Sorrows of Yesterday
by Tenshi-Battosai
Summary: INUNARU Kagome's in a new dimension for the record! When Team 7 and Neji go out to hunt down a missing nin, Naruto mistakens Kagome for the nin and attacks! Many surprises are in store after Kagome returns to Konoha with them... SasKag
1. From the Beginning

**---Sorrows of Yesterday---**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

Hope you'd like a Kagome/Sasuke pairing…

**Chapter 1: From the Beginning**

A miko sighed, contemplating jumping into an old, dry well for good.

She wore hardly an outfit close to a miko a dark red turtleneck with long, flowing sleeves and comfortable, flared black pants with a white sash around her waist, loose ends falling by her leg.

A sword hung limply from her waist, and strangely, a wooden flute beside it. A tiny satchel of money was also tied on.

Kagome had long since completed her quest for the Shikon no Tama, and the well sealed up, thought not completely. Instead, it lead to a different dimension. Kagome was curious about this, and quickly sold the shrine 2 days prior to her leave. Souta and Kun-Loon understood. She no longer felt at home in the future, and she no longer thought about the past events that occured since her birthday that very year.

So now, there she was, standing beside the damned well that could change her future, depending on what would be on the other side. Though, there was only one more time through the well before it sealed up completely. She could feel it in her blood.

Kagome dug through the contents of her black, drawstring bag. There was some extra currency that she wasn't carrying, one or two eating utensils, two daggers, soap, food, extra clothing, flashlight, water bottle, lighter, towel, jacket, and darts.

'_Why did I bring darts?_' Kagome frowned. '_I guess it wouldn't hurt to bring them…_' She carefully stuffed them in her pockets.

Now, you may be wondering, '_How could she fit all of that into a single, small drawstring bag?_'

Kagome could use her miko energy to shrink things small enough so they could conveniently fit. Let's just say, she wasn't your normal, everyday miko. Kagome didn't reduce sizes too often though, because it took way more energy then healing a fever, and that took quite a lot of energy.

A round rock clattered against the bottom of the well as she bent over to look inside.

Looking back one last time, Kagome slung the bag over her shoulder and sighed, jumping into the great abyss of the well to her unknown future.

And hopefully, it was a good one.

121212121212

It felt so lonely in here. There was never anyone else in the Uchiha mansion since that incident.

Sasuke let out an irritated sigh at the silence as he chose to take a walk, slamming the door behind him. The lock automatically clicked, securing the mansion.

Outside, he could see Naruto rounding the corner, but chose to ignore him.

"Sasuke! Hey, Sasuke-teme! Wait up!"

"What?" Sasuke stared at him and stated boredly, answering the annoying boy in orange.

"I just remembered that if you still want to restore your clan, you have to get married and have…eww! Anyways, that means you haven't completed your goal yet, so ha!" Naruto exclaimed in a loud voice, laughing. He then started running away before the Uchiha could make any move to strangle him.

"Wait!' Sakura cried out, trying to catch their attention before they could run off, "Tsunade-sama says that we have a new mission!"

121212121212

It was right after the war with Orochimaru…Sasuke had returned after a year. He was accepted quite grudgingly back into the village after a series of events involving trust and where his loyalties lay. Luckily, the war was over then, and Orochimaru was dead.

Sakura started to date Lee, much to the guy's delight. After you got past all the physical faults, he was a great guy. She didn't regret it.

The missions have gotten more dangerous, so even though they were Chunin now, all of them were ordered to still travel with their teacher for safety precautions. Once in a while, there would be an exception, but that was mostly only for the reason that there was no teacher availiable at the time.

"What's our mission?" Naruto blabbered excitedly.

It was silent for a moment.

"Granny! Tell me!"

Tsunade just seemed to stare at the door, as if waiting for someone to come in.

Oh yeah, Kakashi.

But Naruto's thoughts were mixed up again when he saw that Kakashi was already in the room, waiting patiently in the corner, his book splayed open.

Whirling around again at the sound of a small click and footsteps, he saw Hyuuga Neji and Rock Lee walk into the room.

"What are you guys doing here?" Naruto asked, confused.

The once silent Hokage now spoke, "Everyone, now that you're all here, I can tell you the mission. Gai's team will be joining up with you for this mission; it's crucial that this is done correctly. Unfortunately, it's only Neji and Lee here. Tenten came down with a fever and I have to go check up on her, so she'll be staying here with Gai until she's better."

"Has it gotten even more dangerous now?" Sakura asked, frowning.

Tsunade opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Naruto

"Fuzzy-brows is coming too?"

"Yes", Tsunade replied bitterly, "Hold on, actually, I think he should stay here to help guard the village."

"Okay!" Lee shouted eagerly, "I will protect this village, that's a promise!" He struck a 'good guy' pose and with that, ran out the door.

The group heard his enthusiastic jog down the hallway before his footsteps faded.

"But Tsunade-sama, why don't you just send a team of Jounin to do this since it's so dangerous?" Sakura questioned curiously.

"Most of them are currently on mission and unfortunately, the ANBU are too. That's why we need Lee to stay around with Shino and Kiba, with some others. Neji is a Jounin, remember?"

"Oh…yeah, sorry about that Neji."

'_That's unusual…_' Sasuke thought.

"Anyway, your mission is to hunt down a missing-nin and kill him. They say his voice sounds like a girl, and he's wearing an ANBU mask with a scratch across the left check. He has long, black hair and resembles a girl in appearance and speech. Don't fail." She concluded.

With that, the Hokage dismissed them to get packing.

121212121212

Kagome continuously kicked a tiny rock down a worn-down dirt path as she pondered her surroundings.

'_It can't be the feudal era because it's much neater out here... I'm assuming this is a bit after that. I don't sense any demons for miles so that would mean that there are no demons in this era or we're in a well-protected area... or maybe this isn't even in my time period at all? Maybe Tokyo will never exist here, and there was no such thing as the Shikon?_'

'_What's this?_' Kagome raised an eyebrow, rubbing the blood off her shoe. She had stepped in a puddle of wine red. Eyeing the blood, Kagome followed its trail right up into a bush.

Cautiously stepping up to the foliage, she pushed down a branch and found a dead body with strange clothing and a white and red animal mask.

"What happened here...?" Kagome muttered, crouching down beside the body. She checked for a pulse and found none. His skin, which she had to look twice before confirming it a guy, was pale and cold.

He was dead.

Kagome concluded that bloodshed still occured in this area, and she had to stay on guard. She pried the mask off his face, and absently put it on to get it out of the way. Taking one last look at the poor man, Kagome purified his dead body and left.

After an hour or so, Kagome managed to build a makeshift shelter out of branches and leaves. Kagome plopped herself in the middle of it all and sighed.

A twig snapped and Kagome froze. _"Why didn't I sense them before? I shouldn't be getting caught off guard. I need to train again or I'm going to get rusty."_

There were a few voices and a hushing noise, and then it became eerily quiet.

Stealthily, Kagome slipped her two daggers out of her drawstring bag and tucked them into her belt beside her sword and flute, securing the sash. She loosened the darts up in her pocket and pulled her white gloves up a bit tighter. Apparently, she had forgotten about the mask that still hid her face. Kagome ducked out of her 'tent'.

"Ahh!" A loud voice exclaimed and a sharp, metal object whizzed startlingly by Kagome's head, thrown by a boy dressed in orange.

* * *

This is the first chapter… It will be a Sasuke/Kagome pairing.Reviews would be appreciated. 

Tenshi-Battosai


	2. Miko Vs Ninja

**---Sorrows of Yesterday---**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto!

Hey guys! Thank you for all your wonderful reviews and now…for the long-waited chapter 2! And just to warn you right now, I really, really, really, really suck at battle scenes…

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Just as a one time warning, I'm aiming more on quality for this fic, and not finishing time, so don't expect quick updates…thanks for understanding! (If you do…) Man, I've gotta beta this all by myself…

**Chapter 2: Miko vs. Ninja**

"Ahh!" A loud voice exclaimed and a sharp, metal object whizzed startlingly by Kagome's head, thrown by a boy dressed in orange and a bit of black.

'_What the hell!?!?_' Kagome thought, startled as she jumped back in surprise.

"Kakashi-sensei!" The strange boy exclaimed, "I found the missing-nin!"

'_Missing-nin? What's a missing-nin?_' The miko furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, but on the outside of the strange mask she had found, she remained impassive.

The overly excited boy seemed impatient, as if waiting for someone.

Right after that, 3 other people rounded onto the path. One was a girl with pink hair, another was a boy that had interesting white eyes, and the last boy wore a blue shirt and had spiky hair. They all seemed taller than Kagome, except for the pink-haired girl and the guy in orange.

After that, a man with bushy, silver hair emerged, "What was that, Naruto?"

'_Ah…so that guy in orange is called Naruto…_'

"I found the missing-nin!"

The stranger raised an eyebrow and looked at Kagome. He seemed too calm, "Ah… I see. Good job, Naruto." _"Usually the enemy would be quite aggravated by now that we're acting so casual around him. Hmm..."_

"That's the missing-nin?" The pink haired girl seemed to comment incredously.

"It seems so." The guy with white eyes stated.

The silver-haired man seemed to decide to trust the overly excited boy and just turned to Kagome, "We've been sent by the Fifth Hokage to assassinate you, but I guess it's too late for that. As a missing-nin, you have betrayed Konoha and therefore, have been sentenced to death."

"Wasn't this supposed to be an assasination mission?" The boy dressed in blue muttered darkly.

'_Missing-nin? Hokage? Konoha? What the hell?_' Before Kagome could reply, the guy in orange had attacked.

"Oh! Oh! I want to beat him up! Let me beat him up!"

'_What!?!? I'm a girl, not a guy!_'

Naruto made a couple rapid hand signals, which Kagome completely didn't understand. Her eyes widened as suddenly, 5 replicas of Naruto attacked with what seemed like sharp, black knives.

'_Self-defense! Self-defense! Dammit, Kagome!_' Her brain seemed to scream. Kagome's mind was reeling. As if on impulse, Kagome reached for her sword and drew, the sound of the sword dragging along its sheath echoing throughout the clearing.

She stabbed one of the clones and let out a small, terrified shriek as it just dispersed in a puff of smoke. Turning around, Kagome swung at the second and third clone, making them disappear too. The 5th was easily killed, but not after ripping the hem of her gloves.

Kagome noticed the pink haired girl back up towards who they called Kakashi-sensei after the guy with white eyes called out, "Sakura! Get behind Kakashi!"

'_What a nice name_.' Kagome thought idly, trying to re-sort her thoughts after the startling attack, '_Remember Kagome…it's only self-defense…no need to attack back…_'

"Bastard! Don't just stand there like an idiot!" Naruto exclaimed.

The once silent boy in blue growled, "Shut up, moron!"

Kagome giggled, "Rivals?" she asked and smirked a bit when Naruto looked surprised. She honestly didn't want to attack…what did she do?

"He sounds like a girl, just like Tsunade-sama said," Sakura remarked.

Kagome rolled her eyes. '_Because I am a girl…'_ She didn't bother correcting them. It was so confusing. She didn't know why they were attacking her...what type of unusual energy they were using, or why they were calling her a guy.

"Neji…do something…" Sakura whispered to white-eyed guy.

'_Neji…?_' Kagome inwardly twitched, '_Who the hell is the guy in blue then?_'

It was silent for a while, only the sounds of rustling grass being brushed by the wind heard. Each one another stared, daring the other to make the first move.

Alas, Sakura, who looked stressed, drew out one of those strange, knife-like weapons and attacked.

"Sakura!" Naruto cried out in alarm.

"Don't act so fast, Sakura!" Kakashi looked on in worry as she fought.

_Clash, clash, bang, clink._

The sounds of metal clashing echoed throughout the clearing.

Suddenly, somehow, Kagome's sword was startlingly pulled out of her hand, causing her to loose her main weapon, '_Uh…_' With a wide-eyed expression, Kagome searched her many pockets, trying to find a convenient weapon to use, now that her sword just happened to be lying halfway across the clearing.

Sakura retreated back triumphantly, beckoning one of the guys to 'finish her off'.

Neji stepped up. Kagome and him eyed each other.

'_Ah…there it is._' The miko made the first move. Locating her many darts, she threw them, like a true ninja, just like they would with kunai. Of course, Kagome didn't know a thing about that.

"What?" Kagome hissed, as he seemed to shift into a physical fighting stance, muttering two words, **"Hakkeshou Kaiten!"**

'_A…cyclone?_' Kagome questioned to herself, trying to jump out of the way as the darts abruptly few back at her, defying the attack she had originally carried out.

"Use…use that _other_ jutsu!" Naruto blurted out after a minute when the darts embedded itself into the ground with a dull thud, "Concentrate your chakra! Burn that missing-nin!"

Sakura fumed, punching him in the head. "Then LET him concentrate, idiot!"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head nervously, watching the battle, "Oi, oi! We can't have injured comrades at the moment!"

The boy in blue smirked.

Neji curtly nodded and shifted into an even more unusual stance.

Kagome regarded him cautiously, blindly feeling her pockets for those daggers from earlier on. She grasped onto a handle.

'_Who are these people, and what do they want with me? What have I done this time?_'

* * *

Reviews would be appreciated.

Tenshi-Battosai


	3. Battle On!

**---Sorrows of Yesterday---**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or Inuyasha.

**Chapter 3: Battle On!**

Neji and Kagome stared again for an exceedingly long time. The area suddenly lit into a black area with glowing, green symbols and circles on the floor. It felt as if nothing else existed except for themselves.

Then, Neji bent down a little lower. **"Hakke Rokujyu Yonshu!" (Gentle Fist Style, 64 Hands of Hakke)**

Kagome's eyes lit up with questions, as the boy in blue seemed to smirk.

Naruto snickered and bent down towards the boy in the blue. "That guy is so dead now! He won't be able to use his chakra, Sasuke! You just watch!"

'_His name is Sasuke…?_' There was more things to worry about at the moment. Like this unknown energy and the alert siren going off in her head.

The miko's eyes widened as Neji suddenly bolted forward. **"Hakke Nishou!" (Hakke 2 Hands)**

She felt like she was going to throw up at the first hit. Two hands whacked her hard in the stomach and chest.

"**Yonshou!" (4 Hands)**

'_What?_' The same set of hands came forward again, hitting her, she lurched forward, her eyes wide, _'If he called it 64 hands, then this is bad...I have to get out of here.'_

"**Hachishou!" (8 Hands)**

Kagome attempted to block the next incoming attack, but cringed, as he seemed to tap her hard with two fingers near her wrist. On impulse, Kagome pulled her arm away.

"**Jyuurokushou!" (16 Hands)**

Kagome was sliding. Fast. With every hit, she was violently slid back towards the underbrush. _"I can't find a counter to this!"_

"**Sanjyuunishou!" (32 Hands!)**

"ARGH!" Kagome bit back her pain and attempted to jump aside. But maybe it was too late…?

"**Rokujyuyonshou!" (64 Hands!)**

Kagome promptly threw up and the mask shattered, lying pieces on the ground as a veil of black hair shaded her face from the strangers. She lay coughing, shivering, and crouching on the ground. Her erratic breathing signaled that she might not attack any time soon, "W-what…what was t-that…?" Kagome coughed out, cringing. _'It feels like I broke something...'_

"I have hit 64 points on your body. You can no longer stand," Neji stated.

Her body shook a bit, '_Need…must…must use…energy…I have to protect myself!_' Kagome suddenly started to glow a faint pink, it wasn't very bright considering her loss of energy… With her bangs shading her face, Kagome shakily got onto her knees and formed a bow and arrow with her energy, wavering. Lack of the ability to concentrate caused the energy to dispel, and the weapon was gone.

Neji's eyes widened. "What? He shouldn't be able to use his chakra!"

Kakashi gently pushed Neji back. "Stay back. This doesn't feel like chakra."

But before anyone could do anything, 'his' body jerked, and 'he' collapsed on the ground, out of energy, shallow breathing wracking 'his' body.

Kagome desperately tried to get away from them, forming a weak, solid barrier to go overtop of her natural one and crawling away slowly.

Team 7 and Neji were startled when a translucent pink dome surrounded her.

"Neji…" Kakashi signaled; the prodigy nodded in response.

"Byakugan!" Veins expanded near his eyes as the Hyuuga member searched for an explanation.

Nothing! "Kakashi, I can't sense any chakra."

Sakura frowned, forming a hand seal, "Dispel." She paused, "It's not Genjutsu..."

"What…?" Kakashi breathed in disbelief, walking up to the dome. "What is this…?" He moved his fingers along the surface of the barrier, trying to ignore the dull throbbing inside his mind and numbing pain in his fingers that occurred the longer he held them there.

Kagome panicked. Her barrier wasn't strong enough to do any damage! As soon as he pumped what the strangers had called, 'chakra' into it, her defensive barrier shattered, rendering her helpless.

She hacked up some blood out of her mouth and suddenly felt a wave of more nausea, throwing up again.

"Gross!" Naruto barked, jumping away from her.

Trying to calm her breath, Kagome counted to 3, closing her eyes. But unfortunately, if you're extremely tired and hurt, closing your eyes will just render you unconscious… '_What is...this...sorcery...?_' Was her last thought before slumping onto the ground.

"Alright! Let's kill him now!" Naruto cheered after passing through his shocked mode.

The others walked forward, but an arm stopped them. "Wait."

"What is it, Sasuke…?" Naruto looked at the Uchiha questioningly.

"_Sharingan_." he whispered, his eyes bleeding red, ignoring the pain that throbbed near his left shoulder blade.

Damn. Orochimaru may be dead now, but the curse seal just kept haunting him. Mocking him of his past wrongs and not letting go, limiting his uses of the Sharingan.

Carefully, Sasuke bent down and examined the person's body, brushing the hair out of their face. "It's not a guy." He stated with much surprise. "This isn't the person."

**"What?"** Sakura and Naruto's eyes widened. "You mean we all attacked an innocent...?"

"You mean, you attacked an innocent." Sasuke sighed irritably.

A brief flicker of guilt passed through Neji's eyes, and he bent down along with Sasuke.

Sasuke stood up while Kakashi picked up the woman, gently after the large attack.

"What was that…energy then, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura hesitated.

"I don't know," the copy-nin answered truthfully. '_That woman looks familiar…something about that face…_'

"Look." Neji pointed out, his Byakugan activated. There was a set of footprints from where the lady had come from.

Brushing away leaves and branches, they soon met up with what looked like a makeshift campsite, "I guess this is her stuff."

"Be right back." Sasuke grunted, jumping off. Everyone looked there, questioning, but just shrugged.

Naruto gathered up all the items, Sakura making sure he didn't miss any belongings. There were many belongings.

"How does she manage to carry…?" Neji quirked an eyebrow.

"Dunno." Naruto shrugged. There weren't too many things that she couldn't have carried them in a pack, but all he could find was a small black bag that would probably only fit a few things inside.

Kakashi set Kagome onto the ground, helping them pick everything up.

"Look at everything she brought." Sakura stared in awe, picking up fork and not surprisingly, a separate box of food. There was a very nice looking jacket too and some strange looking coins and bills that looked to be antique.

To save some room, Neji took the blanket, dropping various items like eating utensils and soap, flashlight, etcetera, and then wrapping them in the blanket.

"Err…who will pick up that lady now?" Naruto questioned. There wasn't much to carry, but everybody had something in their hands.

A shuffle alerted the team and Sasuke trudged back in. "The missing-nin is dead," he stated, offering no information on how he knew.

Kakashi nodded in approval. "Could you pick her up? We can't at the moment."

Sasuke sighed and grudgingly picked the woman up, nodding as he adjusted her to a more comfortable position.

The team headed back to Konoha.

121212121212

"What's this?" Tsunade sat up from her paperwork. She blinked the sleepiness out of her eyes and yawned. The door slammed open and the team she had called for the mission walked in, looking exhausted.

"We thought she was the missing-nin due to the mask on her face… She's injured now and seemed to display a different type of energy other than chakra." Kakashi explained.

Tsunade dropped her pen and walked up, examining the girl. She was no younger than Sakura; "I'll take her to the hospital wing. You all get a rest." She took the miko in her arms, taking the load off Sasuke's tired arms. "And file that report, Kakashi."

Nodding, they dropped her stuff on the floor and dispersed, if not, a bit hesitantly.

The former Hokage looked down at the mysterious girl. This person could be a spy from another village…they'd have to be a bit cautious.

"Shizune!"

The apprentice scurried into Tsunade's office, pausing, a bit horrified when she spotted an unconscious girl in her arms.

"Take this girl down to the hospital and take care of her, but keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't do anything suspicious."

"Ah…yes Tsunade…" Gently, Shizune shifted Kagome into her own arms and stumbled out of the room, rushing hastily to the hospital, just down the street.

121212121212

Shizune called forth the nurses. Being busy, she had to grab a few items before coming back. The apprentice laid her palm on Kagome's forehead, jerking it away and gasping when she felt a strong fever. Almost immediately, Shizune abandoned her paperwork and tried to decrease the fever.

"Whoever you are," Shizune whispered, "I want you to hang in on there."

Calling some more experienced medic-nins, Shizune helped them x-ray Kagome's body, checking her chakra highways and pathways.

It seemed that Neji had tapped all her chakra points – but overhearing Tsunade's short conversation, she had recalled that Kakashi said she had displayed something that was not chakra.

Perhaps, it was he had made a mistake, for not being chakra, maybe more like Naruto's red chakra? But Kakashi was experienced in this area of sorts, why would he be wrong?

"She's rolled over! Clear her heartbeat!" A Nin shouted, pushing her body back on the hospital bed and trying to avoid the blood that she was coughing out.

Shizune took one last glance at the mysterious girl before picking up her work and walking into the waiting room for a seat.

* * *

Reviews would be appreciated.

Tenshi-Battosai


	4. Interrogation: Morino Ibiki

**---Sorrows of Yesterday---**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto.

I understand that some of you are wondering why Kagome has chakra…you'll find out later.

I don't know much about Ibiki, but I'll rely on the Chunin exams and his attitude and movements, sorry – I'll probably be making up a lot of things as I go along in the story! Sorry! He'll be really OOC…

Happy Birthday, Kurama'sFoxyMiko! This is for you!

**Chapter 4: Interrogation; Morino Ibiki**

"You think she's a ninja spy?" Sakura exclaimed incredulously, pressing the palms of her hands onto Tsunade's desk.

The Hokage regarded her calmly as the rest of the people attending the meeting sat in discarded chairs, laid out randomly around the office.

Tsunade crossed her arms and leaned back. "It is possible. At times like these, we have to be careful."

Yes, after the war with Orochimaru, Konohagakure had been enormously weakened by the brutal attack.

Ninjas were always on missions, in and out of the village. Therefore, Chunins would complete A-B class missions; ANBU were all occupied with the S-class missions, Genin had to finish around-the-village tasks, and most Jounin had to stay and guard the village. Others would be called to do missions when everyone else was doing one already.

Times were rough. One of the only things holding their economy and village up was their well-bounded alliance with the Sand.

"Anyway," The Hokage cleared her throat. "We have to check to see if she could indeed be a spy. Any false assumptions could be a high risk for our village."

Neji, Sasuke, and Kakashi nodded in understanding.

Naruto scrunched up his face. "But she's just a girl – an innocent! We didn't mean to attack her and…well, she didn't attack back!"

"It could just be an act." Tsunade closed her eyes. "I'm going to have to call him in to question her."

"What?" Sakura and Naruto were horrified.

"It won't be harsh," She explained, sighing. "He's just going to ask a few questions, then be on his way."

"Then, what of after that?" Neji spoke up, gaining the attention of Sasuke in the process.

"Absolutely," Kakashi nearly cut off the Hyuuga, "but don't let him traumatize her." He chuckled, "If we could gain her trust as an ally, I believe that she would be an excellent aspect, part-taking this village."

Tsunade smiled. "Yes, she woke up a couple hours ago. I think she'd be ready to be questioned. We could just get her to pick up a spare change of her clothing," she gestured into the corner of the room, where a heap of unsorted objects lay, "and then send her to Ibiki."

121212121212

Kagome groaned, sitting up on the hospital bed as it creaked loudly, making her wince. '_Where…am I?_'

She took a glance around the room, guessing it to be a hospital room.

"Well, I guess I'm in a hospital," Kagome muttered to herself, staring at the bandages and wires wrapped securely around her body, "And I've undergone some treatment," She added in carefully.

The door creaked open and Kagome was immediately on alert.

"Oh! Miss! You're awake! I was so worried, you had come down with a fever, and your chakra paths were blocked, you were tossing and turning and sweating and…"

"Umm…" Kagome started cautiously, "Sorry to interrupt, but…what…what is…chakra?"

Shizune stared at her as if she had just sprouted an extra head, "Chakra is the energy in your body…well…" She hesitated, unsure of how to explain it.

"Well, it can come from two parts of your body, the body energy inherent in your trillions of cells and the mental and spiritual energy gained from exercise and experience. You use it to perform jutsus."

"Thank you…but…what are…jutsus?" Kagome asked sheepishly, now fiddling with one of the many tips of her hair.

"Jutsus, or techniques, are the arts that a ninja would use to his or her advantage in battle…" Shizune bit her lip. "You use one by using your chakra, which I already explained… You perform one by making many hand-seals that are used in different combinations…there's a lot of different types.

"So, if you want to use a certain jutsu, the element would be different from many others and…the stronger the jutsu, the more chakra it uses up."

Kagome nodded her head in understanding. "That makes sense."

The apprentice felt as if she was in school again, reciting and memorizing the ninja facts. She let out a chuckle at that.

The miko raised an eyebrow, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Shizune sighed. "Just a random thought…"

"Hey…how long have I been asleep for…?"

"Erm…around 50 hours…"

"What?"

"Yes…that's why I was extremely worried for you at the time, but I guess you're fine now."

"What's your name anyways, mine's Kagome!" She smiled cheerfully, looking into the woman's eyes, '_At least I don't think the injuries were too dangerous._'

"Shizune, nice to meet you!" The apprentice laughed back. "Anyway, I've got some work to do, but could you follow me and get some clothes on, Tsunade-sama wants to ask you a few questions."

"Alright, lead the way!" Kagome carefully climbed out of the slightly unstable hospital bed and cold feet padding the floor, followed Shizune down the hall and out the hospital doors, causing a peculiar sight to nearby onlookers. She could feel her muscles strain as she walked, and Kagome stumbled a fair bit before she got going again.

She wondered who Tsunade was.

121212121212

"Yes, and also-"

The door creaked open, and a head peered in nervously. "…Hello…?"

"Come in!" Tsunade smiled, trying to greet her warmly. "I'm sorry we couldn't properly organize your items. It's right over there." she pointed into the mess in the corner of the room.

"Thanks." Stepping inside, Kagome walked over to the corner and gingerly sorted through her stuff, finding a simple pair of shorts and t-shirt.

She nodded her thanks, walking out the door once she had gathered a few items together.

"Somebody wants to ask you a few questions after!" The Hokage called after her, "I hope you don't mind!"

The rest of the occupants in the room had stayed silent the entire time.

Her head popped back in. "Alright, thanks!" Kagome smiled; soon turning into a grin, then ran out to change again.

'_There's something peculiar about that smile…almost…familiar…_' Kakashi pondered, frowning.

_Kakashi spun a little girl around on her heels, the infant giggling._

_She stopped and lurched forward, hugging the copy-nin around his waist and burying her face in his stomach. _

_Kakashi patted her fondly, matting her hair. _

_The girl looked up at his masked face and grinned a toothy smile, "Mom!" she cried out as soon as she saw a woman emerge from their hut, smiling, she ran and hugged that woman too._

121212121212_  
_

"Sorry, I'm going to have to leave you here, it's the Hokage's orders." Shizune apologized.

"It's alright…what exactly is this for?" Kagome asked curiously.

The room was very plain – white walls and no windows. Two black armchairs with a single wooden table between it resided in the middle of the room, with a pair of teacups and a teapot on top of it.

Several tea biscuits lay in a plate beside it.

Giving a weak smile to Shizune, Kagome said thanks again and then sat down on a chair, the legs scraping the bare floor as she pushed it back a bit, listening as the door creaked shut behind her. That was then she noticed the clock hanging on the wall.

"Ahh!" Kagome jumped in her seat, almost dropping the pot in her hand as a puff of smoke filled the room, as it cleared, a man with a blue bandana and a black cloak was seen standing there.

The bandana had the same symbol she had seen those other people wear.

He had a serious expression on his face, unnerving her a bit.

"I'm Morino Ibiki," The tall man greeted, taking a seat on the chair in front of her. "I'm here to ask you a few questions. Answer them truthfully, and I'm sure we won't have any trouble."

The atmosphere was a bit strained, though Kagome didn't exactly understand why. She didn't make it strange, but being in this room with this man seemed to change everything.

For moments, the two just stared at each other, one in apprehension, and the other with sharp eyes.

Kagome nodded slowly, picking up her full teacup and taking a small sip.

"What is your name?" He locked eyes with her.

There was a long silence until Kagome gathered up to courage to speak to the man.

His name was Ibiki…right…?

"Kagome…Kagome Higurashi."

Ibiki seemed to nod curtly, "What village do you come from?"

"Village? I don't know…What are you talking about?"

He frowned, repeating the question, "What village do you come from?"

Kagome's eyes shifted to the clock. "I don't know this area. I don't know where I am." She started to say, absorbing th realization of what he had said. It was true...she didn't know where she was...

Waking up to find yourself in a hospital bed, walking into an office you didn't know, then suddenly being seemingly _interrogated _by this…man, didn't give her time to stabilize her thoughts…

"I come from somewhere else…I don't know how to explain it…well…what's a _Hokage_…? And…what are you guys…? Where am I?"

More silence. The eerie quiet room seemed to suffocate Kagome; it suddenly seemed hard to breathe.

The man wasn't responding. Did she say something wrong…? _"Jeez, did I offend him? I hope I didn't. __Is there something I should know here…?"_

Ibiki's lips parted, as if he was going to say something, but then he closed them again.

Her chair squeaked as she shifted in her seat, sinking deeper into the cushions while trying not to spill the tea.

Kagome checked the clock. An hour had already passed. How had that much time pass by? So much time in silence. He had only asked two questions.

"Are you lying?"

Kagome snapped out of her trance, "What?"

"Are you lying?" Morino Ibiki repeated.

"Why would I be lying?" Kagome sighed, "No." A more firm reply was delivered at the end when she knew that he wouldn't take that as an answer.

"Alright," he nodded in acceptance and stood up, chair dragging across the floor, "Stay here, I'll be right back." 

_"That felt like a waste of time, but he was honestly, quite unnerving. I don't think I could've spent any more time in the same room with him like that." _Something gave Kagome the feeling that if she had refused to answer, something bad would've happened.

121212121212

They all waited in silence in their seats.

Sakura broke it, "So…you sent Ibiki-san?"

"Yes." Tsunade replied curtly, getting a tad bit impatient.

Naruto peered at Kagome's belongings curiously. There was a mixed array of items stashed in the corner. They seemed just like a few essentials you would need to survive, though he didn't recognize a few items.

"I'm sure that if she travelled with these items, it would've taken a while to carry." Tsunade remarked, tearing her glance away at the odd items Kagome possessed.

"Hn." Neji replied. '_Who is that girl anyways?_'

It seemed his thoughts were answered.

The door creaked open, Ibiki walking in, "Her name is Kagome Higurashi…She claims she doesn't know what a Hokage is or where we are, nor what we are…the girl doesn't appear to be lying...I was quite surprised she didn't crack under pressure. She didn't seem to be reluctant the answer either."

"Thank you." The Hokage nodded, a bit confused at the information that was just given. "You're dismissed."

With a nod, Ibiki led Kagome back to the office, leaving after he had completed his duty.

Kagome fidgeted, her eyes rooted to her feet on the ground. She had changed while Morino-san had left to report to the Hokage, "Um…hello."

This time, she received a friendlier greeting.

* * *

Reviews would be appreciated.

Tenshi-Battosai


	5. Learning to Trust

**---Sorrows of Yesterday---**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto.

Okay! Next chapter! Arigato for all your reviews, it really encourages me!

This is for you – Happy Birthday, Ichano!

**Chapter 5: Learning to Trust**

_"Kagome… I only remember a few things about your dad…" Kun-Loon closed her eyes, sighing wistfully, "It's been so long… He…he was a very outgoing man, you remind me of him."_

_"I'm just like him?" Kagome cocked her head curiously._

_"Yeah…except…he was always lazy, yes, he seemed lazy…I loved him so much."_

Kagome made a sharp intake of breath, bolting up from her bed. With her hand shaking, she wiped some sweat off her forehead, '_Why…why am I sweating…? It wasn't a nightmare…so…why?_'

All she could hear now was the short and shallow breath of her own and her beating heart, along with another person's set of rhythmic breathing.

Standing up and trying to balance herself a bit more, Kagome shifted out of the blankets, reluctant to go out into the cold, but started searching for the washroom.

Damn… This place was just too big for one person.

_"Uhmm…hello?" Kagome questioned nervously.  
_

_"Hello!" Sakura smiled, facing the newcomer to the village._

_"Yo," Kakashi murmured, absorbed in his book. Tsunade, who had moved to the seats while Kagome had come in, slapped his hand away from his porn, scowling._

_"Eh…hey," The Hokage muttered, twitching as the Jounin just brought the book back out again, as if nothing had happened._

_Neji and Sasuke nodded, both looking quite bored._

_"-HI!" Naruto jittered excitedly, running up to Kagome, startling her, "I'm Naruto!" He grinned._

_"Hi!" Kagome smiled back, a bit anxiously. They were suddenly so friendly to her.  
_

_"Have a seat." Tsunade beckoned her in, pulling up a chair and patting the cushion._

_Hesitantly, she slid into the seat, nervously noting that it was quite comfortable, "Um…my name's Kagome…what's yours?" A start to a conversation. "…I know that his name is Naruto…" she looked over to the grinning blonde._

_"I'm Sakura," She smiled, twirling a lock of pink hair, "I hope we can be friends."_

_"Neji."_

_"Sasuke." He nodded, looking at Naruto peculiarly as the kyuubi made faces into a mirror on the wall. "Idiot…"_

_"Kakashi." His sliver hair rustled as he shifted in his seat, bring the book a bit closer to his body._

_"It would help more if you would actually pay attention to everything happening around you," Tsunade scowled, "I'm Tsunade, the Hokage here."_

_Kagome frowned, '_That word again…_' "What does that mean…?"_

_"A Hokage is a…ruler to a village, I guess. There are 7 overall, I believe and they rule the 7 shinobi countries."_

_"So…you guys are ninjas?"_

_"Yeah."_

_Kagome cocked her head, thinking. '_So, I ended up in a ninja dimension…?_' She had read a bit about them, but not much. All she really knew was that most of them had some serious stealth, used small weapons, and did a lot of 'missions' involving assassination and simpler things too. It also didn't help that fiction stories fed stereotypes and such that Kagome knew was probably not true.  
_

_"Are you planning to stay here for a while?" Tsunade questioned._

_"I…don't exactly know." Kagome bit her lip, "Sorry, I'm not very sure of myself, currently."_

_"You should stay at one of the kid's houses," Kakashi suggested, finally pulling his gaze away from the orange novel. "Somebody who wouldn't mind…"_

_"I'm currently staying at Lee's," Sakura sighed regretfully, tangling her fingers together, "Sorry about that…his apartment doesn't have much room in the first place."_

_"I stay at the branch house," Neji explained, "Hiashi would not be happy if you stayed with us." Of course, he didn't at all mean for that to sound offending.  
_

_Sakura looked pointedly at Naruto. "And you wouldn't want to stay with Naruto. If you do, it's ramen 24/7 and clothes all over the floor, orange, specifically. Although I think he's starting to take a liking to black."_

_Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, grinning._

_"…Sasuke…?" Neji spoke up, "Surely you could accommodate her."_

_Tsunade pondered his residential area. "That could be possible, since he lives in the Uchiha district of the village. It's pretty empty, so there's plenty of space to move around…and Sasuke, your manor is fairly large."_

_"Whatever," Sasuke sighed. "So, she's coming?"_

_"I assign her to your house. Take care of her and make sure she doesn't get lost or anything." Tsunade regrettably picked up a stack of paperwork. "I've got work to do now, go away. And Kakashi, you have yet to fill in that report."_

_"Grandma Tsunade…" Naruto complained, "You never do it anyways…"_

_"Shut up!" A random book flew at his head; Naruto ducked and Kagome caught it._

**The Book of Ninja for Beginners**

_"Oh yeah, you can keep that and learn about jutsus and whatever," Tsunade muttered, now shuffling through the mountain for her pencils and pens._

_"I'm going home." Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets. "You coming?"_

_Kagome scurried after him, clutching the book tightly to her chest; the leather-bound book felt strangely smooth in her hands._

_121212121212_

_It felt a bit strange, walking into a completely empty, and large house._

_The sounds of footsteps seemed to slightly echo down the halls and anything you dropped could be heard from the other side of the house if you concentrated a bit harder than normal._

_"You can leave your things here." Sasuke pointed, tired, and indifferent._

_"Alright…thank you, Sasuke, for letting me stay here."_

_"Tch."_

_"So…where am I sleeping tonight…?" The miko peered into one of the many rooms inside the house._

_"You might get lost, so you'll want to stay around here. But, the other rooms are full, so I'll drag a futon into my room."_

_Kagome nodded in understanding, just taking a last peek into the room they had passed by just moments ago._

Kagome winced as she went the wrong way, running into a wall. Where was the washroom anyways…? It was hard to see in the dark – her eyes were still adjusting.

She stood there for a couple minutes, as her vision got in-tune with the lighting.

'_Alright! Now, where is it…?_'

Kagome nearly screamed as she felt a hand grab her wrist tightly, nearly twisting it. Her pupils dilated as her other hand forced her mouth closed to not make any noise.

"…Itachi…" She heard Sasuke's voice growl.

Kagome then realized that Sasuke had taken her arm, gripping it tightly, as if he was in great pain.

Turning her head to his face, she saw it harden, then slowly soften. Alright…everything was okay after all.

She was just about to pull her arm away, when the miko cringed in pain again; he had gripped it tighter.

"Brother…w-why…?" Sasuke whispered. His expression had turned troubled, and wrinkles formed above the bridge of his nose, tears were starting to form under his tightly closed eyes.

Staying silent, Kagome stared in shock. How could she help him…? Should she just wait until the nightmare was over, or should she wake him up? What could she do?

Kagome took her free hand, descending it to rest gently on his left shoulder.

Boy, was that sure a bad idea.

Kagoe felt Sasuke recoil in what seemed like pain. Almost immediately, like a reflex, a kunai pierced the darkness, flying towards Kagome's shocked form.

She willed herself forward, completely not expecting the attack, and the weapon skimmed across her shoulder before embedding itself into the far wall with a dull thud.

Kagome shook in shock. That was a close call. She jerked her hand away from his shoulder as his breathing hitched again, the palm of her hand resting against her wound now.

_Father! Mother! … Sasuke, don't come in…_

_… Foolish little brother…_

_… Mangekyou Sharingan! …_

_… My capacity. I've lost all hope for this pathetic clan…_

_… It was essential…_

Sasuke was having a nightmare.

It confused her, what was the nightmare about? Who was Itachi…? It seemed to bring him a lot of emotion pain…

As some reddish sunlight started to bleed between the curtains, Kagome took the time to examine the wound.

The cut was nothing much. Just a tiny nick in the shoulder; it wasn't a very big deal and surely was nothing to worry about.

Of embarrassment, but more like reassurance, Kagome hesitantly rested her hand again on top of his chest this time, a bit awkward, but his breathing started to even out again afterwards. This assured Kagome that indeed, that was the right decision.

It felt like several hours into the early morning before his grip finally slackened, but by then, Kagome had already fallen asleep on top of him.

* * *

Reviews would be appreciated.

Tenshi-Battosai


	6. Will of Fire

**---Sorrows of Yesterday---**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto!

Anyways, here's my reply to an anonymous reviewer called 'sesshyluva' 

Thanks for the review, but…

1.Thank you for pointing that out :P

2.No, it's not Naruto with the 'nice guy pose'; it's Gai-sensei and Lee. Nice try though.

**Chapter 6: Will of Fire**

Inside the Uchiha district, somebody stirred.

"Mmm…" Sasuke groaned, turning over onto his left side, feeling somebody's weight roll onto his back.

His eyes snapped open.

With quick reflexes, he whipped his arm down to his leg.

The holster was not there.

_Crap!_

Due to his lack of defense at the moment, Sasuke whipped around…to come face-to-face with a sleeping person – Kagome.

'_What the hell?_'

Letting out a brief sigh of relief that it wasn't a ninja invasion in the early morning, he was left afterwards to wonder why the hell she was in his bed in the first place – the bed that was all the way across the room.

Giving her a peculiar look, Sasuke just wiped off a film of sweat from his forehead that he apparently was unaware of.

He stood up, pulling on a fresh new shirt and tossing the worn one into the laundry.

Picking up his forehead protector, Sasuke tied it on securely, running a hand through his spiky hair, and then grabbing his keys near the counter by the front door.

It was still early, and he needed to go out for a short walk.

121212121212

_At the main temple of Nankano shrine…_

_On the far, right side, under the seventh tatami mat is the clan's secret meeting place._

_There, you will find what purpose the doujutsu of the Uchiha Clan originally served…the real secret is hidden there._

Sasuke recalled Itachi's exact words. He frowned at the thought at did a sharp U-turn towards the shrine.

Deciding that it might be another hour or so until Kagome woke up, he unlocked the door and bent down on the tatami mats, sliding one out to reveal a secret level to the shrine.

One that was never supposed to be underneath a shrine.

Sasuke dragged his fingers along the surface of the rock, hand moving up and down according to the engravings.

He traced a part of script that had been written before.

**Wait.**

_Stop_.

Something was totally off here. Now that Sasuke looked closely at the engravings, he noticed that the part where it stated that you had to murder your closest friend had been written over something.

He brushed off some collecting dust on the wall and let out a small, light sneeze at the air started to get a bit stuffier inside.

Now that the writing was a tad bit clearer, Sasuke peered into the script.

The faded, old engravings had been forcefully worn down and written over, by the looks of it.

That part of the information actually _did_ look newer now, come to think about it.

Had Itachi meddled with the information before passing the forbidden are down to him?

But Sasuke couldn't dwell on it for any longer.

Kagome would be waking up soon and he had to get there so she wouldn't get lost on the way to the kitchen.

He needed answers to why she was sleeping with him last night. And he needed them immediately.

The sun had risen a while back.

Team Seven would meet in 2 hours.

121212121212

As he shut the door firmly with one hand, Sasuke locked the door and was instantly assaulted with a strong smell of breakfast cooking, '_What the hell is going on?_'

Rounding a couple of corners, Sasuke arrived at the kitchen, where he found the miko cooking some breakfast consisting of pancakes and syrup.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked, staring at Kagome.

"Oh-! Sasuke! When I woke up, you were gone, and I figured you'd be back at some point in the morning, so I made breakfast! I was fortunate to stumble across the kitchen when I woke up, so...yeah." Kagome beamed, pointing to the table full of food.

'_What the-! She wakes up pretty early for a girl'_ Sasuke just nodded at her and took a seat at one of the chairs, "I never asked you to make breakfast."

"Well…I thought you'd like some when you came back, so…" Kagome took off her apron and took a seat across from the Uchiha; "I made breakfast, hoping that you would be coming back." She grinned, passing Sasuke a plate, which he grudgingly took.

The clinking of forks and knives echoed throughout the house as the two ate in silence, Sasuke in deep thought, and Kagome reading the book that Tsunade had given her. It was a bit awkward now…

Sasuke had been firmly used to the solid routine of waking up in the morning, brushing his teeth, pulling on some new clothes, and just grabbing a piece of toast, hurrying out to the bridge where their team met up every day or two.

Alone.

Having a second person inside the manor was a totally different situation. Although, he had to admit, it was kind of nice having a proper breakfast for once. The last time he had gotten one was…_well_; he didn't want to think about it.

It had been the morning before the slaughter of the clan. By _Itachi._

"Why were you on my bed this morning?" Sasuke brought out the subject bluntly, the sound of his voice startling Kagome.

"What?"

"Why…were you on my bed this morning?" Sasuke repeated, raising an eyebrow for an effect. _"Please don't tell me I'm housing a clingy, stalker-like girl."_

Kagome turned a deep shade of red, "Well…"

How could she explain it? _Oh yes, you were having a nightmare and wouldn't let go – you attacked me! -, And then I fell asleep because you still wouldn't let go._ Yeah, sure! She'd absolutely say that!

"Uh…well…" Kagome thoughtfully started to word out phrases in her mind. "You were having a nightmare and it seemed bad… So I tried to comfort you because I couldn't find the washroom…and you grabbed onto my wrist…I was so tired, I fell asleep. I'm so sorry!" She did a half bow while still sitting down at the table.

Sasuke slowing took in the information. '_Nightmare…?_' After a while, he slowly started to nod his head, accepting this answer. He knew he had nightmares of some sort; he just never thought that it showed physically…

Kagome closed her book and yawned. "What are you doing today?"

"Training." Sasuke dropped his fork and knife, signifying that he was finished. Of course, even though he had never asked for it, common courtesy was always required…to the correct person, really. He paused, reconsidering something. "Thank you for the breakfast." Only some people, of course.

Standing up, Sasuke traveled back to his room to grab the remainder of his weapons, calling out, "You can come if you want to – I don't care."

The only response he received was the clashing of Kagome cleaning up the dishes.

Before they walked out the door, Sasuke grunted, "We never speak of last night again."

"Agreed."

121212121212

The sun slowly started to rise higher into the sky as four frustrated teens awaited a certain teacher atop of a wooden bridge. 

"What's with this guy…Kakashi, right?" Kagome grumbled, shifting her weight onto her left foot, "It's already been an hour…"

Sakura sighed, rubbing her eyes, "He usually comes in three hours past the original set meeting."

Kagome frowned, not able to make sense out of this. "Then why don't you guys just come later too then?"

"I really don't know, now that I think about it…"

"It's a habit." Naruto tried to explain, "And I get to spend more time with my friends too, then!"

'_In…silence…?'_ Kagome thought.

Sasuke just stared at Naruto with a look that said, '_And why do I give a damn?'_

"I guess it's just...a ninja should always be on time. If somebody always comes late, does not mean we should be tardy too," Sakura tried to explain._  
_

"I think we should…do something…" The miko suggested quietly, a bit unsure of herself though.

The Uchiha raised an eyebrow at her, "Like…?"

"I don't know…well, I read the book that Tsunade gave to me and…learned a bit about chakra…I think I have a game you could all play!" Kagome mentioned, looking at everybody's faces for their reactions.

"A game?" Naruto grinned excitedly. "What type of game?"

"I think playing a game would be much better than standing around and waiting for Kakashi-sensei," Sakura grumbled, patting her hair down a bit.

"Um…well…how do I explain this?" Kagome cocked her head thoughtfully, "I'd call the game…Chakra Basketball."

"What?" Naruto asked curiously, "What's that?"

"Um…" She thought for a bit. Obviously, they're never heard of basketball before. Instead, Kagome thought of things they could have instead to replace things with. "Do you have a big rubber ball anywhere? And two medium-sized baskets?"

"I have some baskets at home that I don't need. It's only five minutes away – be right back." Sakura notified the other teens, racing at a mad dash for her house.

"I've got a rubber ball at home." Naruto cheered, then suddenly disappeared.

"What the hell?" Kagome blinked several times, trying to convince herself that he did not just disappear.

Sensing her confusion, Sasuke explained, "It's a use of chakra – **Shunshin no Jutsu**. " '_I can't believe she doesn't know this stuff…_'

After about 15 minutes, the two arrived back at their meeting area, panting because they were in a rush to get the items.

"Thank you!" Kagome smiled, though still not understanding Sasuke's explanation. She unsheathed her sword and started cutting away at the bottoms of the baskets, making them as basketball nets, "Do you know where a clearing is with not a lot of rocks?"

"Here." Sasuke led them to a clearing with even ground – coincidentally – and patiently waited for the other three to catch up.

"Thank you!" Kagome then set the ball on the ground, going to two trees and tying the baskets across from each other.

Half an hour had passed.

"Judging by what I read in the book…it's still a little confusing to me, but I think it's something you could train with…of course, I couldn't participate, but I could help…" Kagome handed Sasuke the ball, "The teams would be uneven…I guess there won't be very many rules to this game..."

She explained how to play basketball first, then added in some extra rules and regulations, "You can use any of your 'jutsus' and chakra… along with whatever else you have to your advantage… I guess…randomly… It's going to be Sasuke against Sakura and Naruto."

"I'm going to soo beat you, Sasuke!" Naruto grinned, punching his fist into his other hand.

"Keep dreaming, moron." Sasuke smirked, crouching down to jump up when Kagome gave the signal.

"And I guess you can start now!" Kagome grabbed the ball and tossed it into the air, the two boys staring up at it as it started to descend to the ground, Sakura waiting at the corner of their makeshift court.

* * *

Reviews would be appreciated.

Tenshi-Battosai


	7. Chakra Basketball

**---Sorrows of Yesterday---**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or Inuyasha.

I hope you take this story to your liking! It's a strange storyline so far, but I hope that you will begin to see things in a different light as Kagome discovers more things.

Thank you everybody!

**Chapter 7: Chakra Basketball**

_"…Yes…I'll have to be leaving in 2 weeks…" Voices echoed from down the hallway._

_Kagome snuck into the living room to eavesdrop on their conversation. She couldn't see the speaker though; they would know she was listening to them then._

"_So soon?" Her mother's worried voice echoed in the living room._

"_It's essential…" the same man sighed regretfully. "I really don't want to do this, honestly."_

_Another man's voice spoke, "Then, I'm coming with you."_

"_No! It's dangerous! You just can't -"_

"_What's so wrong about that, you're going too, are you not?"_

_Silence filled the room once again; their conversation halted by a single question asked so defiantly..._

_Kagome covered her nose and mouth with her left hand, forcing herself not to breath, just in case she was heard by the thee adults seated in the living room. After a minute, she decided she couldn't hold it that long, and removed her hand.  
_

"_You might get killed…" Her mother spoke in a whisper, almost forlornly._

"_Everyone going may have a chance of dying, dear." Oh... So that was her father…_

_Now, the other man thought for a moment, "I know that it's dangerous to go back there, but we have to -"_

"_You're not going."_

"_We," The man seemingly glared at her father, "Have to protect the village."_

_Kagome's mother bit back a small sob, "Why don't you guys just put this all behind you…? What if you two die? What if…what if you can't return? What would Kagome do then? Think about the children!"_

"_I…I don't know…" Her father's words softened, forgetting all about how he was trying to persuade the other man to stay._

"…_We can't go against the Hokage's orders…" The other man tried to explain quietly._

"_Bu-but…" Her mother took a deep breath, "You always put the village above our family! Why can't you ever think of us for once!"_

"_I-I don't know!" Her father's voice raised a few decibels, "This is a hard decision! And now that you're coming with me -!"_

_The father gestured to the other man, "…We both have to decide for our lives…and for the sake of others. We have to ensure the peace of our former village…and the family all at once…"_

"_At…at least think about it for a little bit more," Her mother pleaded as the rustle of fabric signaled that they stood up._

_Kagome, assuming that they were going to leave, raced back to her room, creaking her door closed and feigning sleep. _

_Their low murmuring was soft and gentle; she couldn't hear them anymore though._

"_At least think about it…"_

"_We will…please understand, dear. I know that family comes first…but…"_

_The other man paused to look at the couple, "I, for sure will be going though… The village…honestly needs my help." He turned around and started descending the shrine steps._

_Kagome's mother and father turned to their close friend, dull, sad eyes staring at his back, "I…you…don't have to hold that apathetic mask…you know."_

_The figure paused again, this time, not turning around, "It's not a mask… And I'm just doing what's…**right.**" He finally disappeared from the family's view._

"_If only it didn't have to be this way…"_

121212121212

"Kagome? Hellooo? Kagome? You there?" Sakura shook Kagome's right shoulder in worry, looking into her eyes.

"Ugh…what…?" Kagome blinked several times, craning her stiff neck to look at Sakura.

"You've been in a trance-like state ever since the game started," The kunoichi explained, sitting back with Kagome.

"Aren't you playing too?" The miko frowned, now turning her head back to the game.

"Nah," Sakura grinned. "Something you learn over time – it's useless to try and get in between Sasuke's and Naruto's rivalry with each other."

"Rivalry?"

"Yeah, they fight it off like immature kids."

"Really?" Kagome let out a light laugh.

"Honestly! Look at them now!" Sakura pointed at the supposed 'court'.

121212121212 

"Bastard! Take this!" Naruto roared, "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Four other Naruto's appeared out of nowhere and jumped at Sasuke.

Sasuke dodged out of the way, but Naruto caught hold of their makeshift basketball and headed for the net the Uchiha was defending.

"Haha!" Naruto mocked, as he was about to score, "Haha-AHH!"

"**Gokakyuu no Jutsu!**" A huge fireball was sent in Naruto's direction, causing him to fall onto the ground, startled.

"Bastard! I'll get you for that!"

"In your dreams, idiot." Sasuke smirked, balancing the rubber toy ball between three of his fingers.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Naruto shouted out once again. Crouching down, the Naruto replicas launched, aiming painful kicks at Sasuke, "U-Zu-Ma-Ki! **Naruto Rendan**!"

As Sasuke was thrown up in the air, Naruto snuck up and jumped, scoring on Sasuke's net, "YES! AHA! TAKE THAT, SASUKE!"

"I'm still ahead of you," Sasuke pushed on, growling. The Uchiha snatched the ball from Naruto while he was doing a 'victory dance' and promptly dunked it into Naruto's net.

"Haha Haha -! Oh crap! No fair, Sasuke!" Naruto stopped, whining at him.

"Your fault." He just snorted back, both resuming their glare at each other while the ball lay absently on the ground.

121212121212

Sakura sighed, "In things like these, it's good for training, but they're always completing against each other."

"I think I understand that rivalry." Kagome nodded, shifting on the grass.

"It's complicated…somehow."

"Yeah." The miko thought for a moment, "So…these hand seals that they're doing…those are called 'jutsus'?"

"Hai, would you like me to teach you?" Sakura lit up at the chance to show her skills to somebody who would pay attention.

"Sure! That would be great!"

"It's something to pass the time with anyways… I don't think I'll get to do anything with the two sparring anyhow."

Kagome nodded in understanding, taking a glance at the 'battle, "Sakura! Watch out!" Her eyes widened.

"Kagome! Get out of the way!" Sakura shouted, pushing her new friend out of the way, just before the foliage in which they were sitting in turned to ashes, "HEY! SASUKE! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE AIMING THAT THING!"

The only response she got was a grunt, making her roll her eyes in exasperation.

"Now I **really** understand you." Kagome's breath came on in short intervals as she tried to calm her racing heartbeat.

The two just sat there in silence again, staring as the two rivals battled it off with this new chakra game, the smell of burning plants wafting into their noses.

"Alright…would you like me to teach you now?" Sakura continued on.

"Yeah!" Kagome piped up enthusiastically. Learning new things were always a great experience to her.

"Okay…" Sakura cocked her head for a moment, pondering on where to start her explanation, "You don't know anything about this stuff?"

Kagome gushed in embarrassment, "No…not really. Only some stuff that Shizune told me."

"…Then this might take a while…"

"I'm sorry…" Kagome bowed her head, even more embarrassed now.

"No, no! Really! It's nothing to be so down about! I don't mind!" Sakura reassured Kagome, waving her arms around.

"Alright then…if you're sure" Kagome now felt a bit better. She looked up at Sakura, slightly grinning, "So…what's first…?"

121212121212

"…AND ANOTHER POINT FOR UZUMAKI! YEAH!" Naruto shouted out, grinning.

Rubbing at a bruise on his side, Sasuke scowled, "Really moron, I'm still ahead of you…!" His scowl turned into a mocking smirk.

"Not for long!"

The two both dove for the ball lying on the ground, both trying to force the other one away to get the 'basketball'. Both had the same intent, yet with different thoughts about how to accomplish it.

Over the years, they had improved themselves, trying to create new jutsus, learning, and copying new jutsus. Let's just say, they got better with one another.

Sasuke burst into some hand seals, "**Katon, Karyuu Endan!**"

A huge fire dragon opened up and started spinning around, thrashing at Naruto and the foliage.

On the 'sidelines', Sakura and Kagome paused what they were doing, completely bewildered.

"HOLY SHI-! **Suiton, Suryuudan no Jutsu!**" Naruto nearly shrieked, diving away at the raging fire and blasting it down with a huge water dragon to counter it.

"Yo, sorry I was late. I got lost on the road of life-" Kakashi abruptly stopped, staring blankly at the mess. He was silent, and then, "What happened here?" Nobody could miss his very obvious twitching.

* * *

Reviews would be appreciated.

Tenshi-Battosai


	8. Seen Before, Seen Again

**---Sorrows of Yesterday---**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto.

**Chapter 8: Seen Before, Seen Again**

Okay…so it wasn't everyday you saw steaming, ash black foliage that was half-covered in water…

There was silence, followed along with shock in the area.

Naruto took a hesitant step around to see a very…terrified teacher who looked like he was going to kill somebody on the spot.

Sasuke and Naruto's rivalry had taken a step over the line.

Sakura and Kagome sat quietly on the 'sidelines', one coughing the ash particles out of her lungs, and the other, drenched in ice cold water.

Mist and smoke still hung thickly in the air, clinging to their hair and clothing.

"…What happened to these training grounds…?" Kakashi's eyes trailed over the ashen trees, to the burnt grass, deformed baskets, melted rubber, and any other things in the area.

The bottom of the three thick log posts had turned a sooty black. If you kicked it, it was sort of shed right off.

Naruto murmured something incoherent, staring far off into the distance 'innocently' and avoiding Kakashi's gaze.

"What was that?" The sensei's voice came out a bit raspy at this living horror scenery.

"It was Sasuke's fault! It was all his fault!" Naruto suddenly blurted out, pointing accusingly at the raven-haired boy.

"WHAT?" Sasuke glared heatedly at Naruto, clenching his teeth, "It was not, dead last!"

"Was too, bastard!" Naruto returned the glare, "You would've burnt the entire forest down!" He retorted.

"You could've drowned it!" Sasuke shot back.

"Could not! The trees would've sucked it up!"

"The trees can only take in so much water before they drown!"

"Could not!"

"Could too!"

"Could not!"

"Could too!"

"Burned the forest…drowned it…?" Kakashi interrupted them curiously, wanting to hear more information on what had occurred in the field.

Kagome raised an eyebrow along with Sakura, watching this scene with a bit of amusement now. Their arguments were entertaining, especially with Kakashi-sensei around to unknowingly fuel the fire.

"…It looks like we're either going to report to Tsunade, or try and clean this up right about now before anybody else finds out…" Kakashi scratched his head sheepishly; "We're really going to hear it from the Hokage…"

"Yeah Sasuke, you're really going to hear it from Granny Tsunade!"

Sasuke just glared back at Naruto, turning around to face Kakashi again, who was examining the nearest tree.

Kagome giggled at their antics, making the sensei turn towards her.

"Oh…! Kagome! Welcome to the team!" You could sort of see him smile behind that mask.

_Wow._

Mood swings…

"Hi…" Kagome waved nervously.

"We already knew her, **while you were gone.**" Naruto emphasized the last comment

"Sorry, sorry, a dog got stuck in a tree, and…"

"LIAR! Dogs don't go around getting stuck in trees!" Sakura and Naruto chorused, pointing accusingly at their teacher.

The Uchiha snorted and leaned against the least sooty area of a tree.

It was a bit weird how the conversation had turned out…

Kakashi was acting like had forgotten all about the 'incident'.

"Soo…" Sakura added in quietly, "How are we going to clean this up?"

Kakashi shrugged, "Any which way, it doesn't matter as long as you don't damage anything else."

Naruto walked over to the three logs that were standing up. His feet made sloshing sounds in the marshland-like grass. Staring at the log right on the middle of the three, he lifted his hand up and grabbed a stray fraying splinter of bark, only about half a centimeter long. Naruto jerked it right down, bringing a long strip of wood with him. Underneath, it looked as if nothing really happened. He tossed the strip onto the ground and squinted at the clean part, "Maybe we can do this."

"Yeah" Sakura agreed, cocking her head, "But we can't do that to all the trees around us. That's not healthy for it. We're lucky that these are just wood."

"Oh…"

Nonetheless, Naruto got to work, stripping off the three training logs so they wouldn't be as damp, moist, and ash-layered as after the two guys rivalry.

Sakura used a wind jutsu to clean the air and push around the ash, pausing every couple of moments to catch her breath.

Kakashi summoned Pakkun to help out, even if only a bit, but… The air was so thick was ash, Pakkun just grumbled and complained, sneezing once or twice, then disappearing with a small 'poof', leaving the Jounin standing there again.

Almost expected, Sasuke just stood there, watching in amusement as Naruto and Sakura attempted their 'tidy up'.

Kagome stood beside him, feeling a bit left out because she didn't totally know how to use jutsus and couldn't find any other way to help in the first place.

"…Shouldn't we be doing something…?" Kagome offered to Sasuke, watching as he shrugged and shuffled his feet in the grass, mud building up along the sides of his sandals.

"Tch, let them do it themselves."

The miko nervously picked at the hem of her water-soaked shirt as that comment, "Umm… I guess so…"

Kagome right then, looked at Kakashi and couldn't noticed that he seemed oddly and utterly familiar…just like she had seem him somewhere before…

But…how was that possible?

121212121212

After Pakkun had teleported out of there, Kakashi stood there, scratching his head.

Sighing, the Jounin just walked up to another tree, examining what made it so black.

It seemed that the ash had attached itself onto the tree, and then when the water had covered the area, mixed the sooty substance with water, creating what seemed like a black water mixture.

To resolve this, Kakashi used a small water jutsu that squirted out a stream of water and just doused the tree off, watching as the black water slid down to the grass below the plant.

Finishing up the trees, Kakashi glanced at Sasuke, who wasn't doing anything, '_And my effort of teaching him teamwork has gone to waste once again_,' he sighed exasperatedly, seeing that the Uchiha had somehow convinced Kagome to stand there too.

He took another quick look at Kagome.

She looked strangely like one of his old friends…as if she was their offspring…

Heh, but that wasn't possible, was it?

Shaking off that thought, Kakashi shook some mud off his sandals and picked up a blackened basket, '_What were they doing in the first place?_'

Kakashi would've left them to clean the mess up themselves, but…then he'd probably get in trouble for ditching his comrades when they were 'in need of help'.

He decided that he'd ask his team about that later.

121212121212

After what seemed like hours of cleaning, there stood an exhausted Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto by a calm Sasuke and Kagome.

"Bastard! You were supposed to help!" Naruto growled at the lack of activity that his teammate had done.

Sasuke only raised and eyebrow and said, "And you tell me this now?"

Only sounds of grumbling pursued.

"At least all the cleaning is finished now, right?" Sakura offered weakly, not wanting the two to start righting again, due to what might happen this time that they would have to clean up.

Kagome was about to say something, but was interrupted by another voice.

"Kakashi! Are you going on that mission that Tsunade-sama was talking about?" Iruka waved to the Jounin.

"Mission…?" Kakashi slightly frowned, turning towards Iruka.

"Oh…so you didn't know about it…"

"What mission?" The copy-nin repeated.

Iruka bit his lip; "It's a meeting with the Cloud-nin… But I guess you're not going then…"

"Maybe I should go…?"

"No! Really! You should stay here with your team then!" Iruka protested, now a bit red for mentioning it at all.

"What's so wrong about that, you're going too, are you not?"

At this line, Kagome's eyes glazed over.

The line was repeated in her mind, '_What's so wrong about that, you're going too, are you not?_

121212121212

"_So soon?" Her mother's worried voice echoed in the living room._

"_It's essential…" the same man sighed regretfully, "I really don't want to do this, honestly"_

_Another man's voice spoke, "Then, I'm coming with you"_

"_No! It's dangerous! You just can't -"_

"_What's so wrong about that, you're going too, are you not?"_

121212121212

'_Oh…what…?_' Kagome's mind went a bit fuzzy.

Could he…could it really be him…?

* * *

Reviews would be appreciated.

Tenshi-Battosai


	9. He's Your What?

**---Sorrows of Yesterday---**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto.

I find dealing with relationships with Sasuke…very complicated. With him, I prefer more from the steady approach because of his attitude… With one like that, I find it hard to believe that he'd like anyone… (Snort) But I'm taking this slow, and it'll eventually come to what we call a real pairing… After a certain something happens. XD

Anyways, after a long period time to think about it, I have come down to the firm conclusion and decided that Kakashi will be Kagome's…

Well, of course you have to read!

**Chapter 9: He's Your What?**

"Umm…" Kagome murmured, still a bit confused. "But… -no, that's really not possible…"

Curious about what the miko was saying to herself, Team 7 turned around and examined Kagome in full interest, who was looking at her feet. Sighing, she didn't realize that everybody was staring at her, "Hatake…Hatake Kakashi…?" Kagome repeated over and over again.

Sakura frowned, confused. "What…?" Why was she using Kakashi-sensei's name?

"…Yes…?" The teacher replied cautiously. He didn't recall giving his surname to this girl.

"You…" Kagome continued on, "You…You're…Dad's really good friend that went away!" She lit up in surprise and realization.

"…What…whose really good friend?" Kakashi was taken aback by her near-sudden outburst, claiming that her dad was his friend, "What was his name then?"

Now here, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura started to especially get more confused about what the two were talking about.

Kagome's dad's really good friend…? Wouldn't that mean that Kakashi knew Kagome beforehand?

"Hakuro," Kagome nodded slowly, as if trying to recall a distant memory, "Yeah, I think it was Hakuro."

Kakashi raised both of his eyebrows. Now this was just not possible. Hakuro? Last time he had seen him was maybe… 10 to 12 years ago? And he had a daughter that was 5 or 6…

_Oh._

121212121212_  
_

"So… you're saying that you saw something strange on your patrol shift last night?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow, Shizune right behind her.

"Yeah." Shikamaru leaned against the Hokage's desk lazily, "Looked kinda suspicious."

"I see…" Tsunade nodded her head slowly, crossing her arms. "Thank you for the report. You may leave."

He nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets, shutting the door behind him as he left.

Only after he left, did the Hokage scrunched her face up in confusion, "I guess it was probably a false alarm, but I'm not sure…"

Shizune looked down on her in worry.

Tsunade could be lazy at times, but there's a point in the job, where she could be either very sure of herself, or horribly indecisive, since she knew that even the tiniest detail of a mistake could cost the lives of so many people…

121212121212

"…So, he's your godfather?" Sasuke stated, but it came out more as an unsure question.

"No…" Kagome struggled to find words to explain, "I think…well, I don't remember much since I was so young, but… I think that my dad and him were really good friends. I recall my dad asking for him to be my godfather, but somebody or something interrupted them and then I guess they forgot about it in the end."

The Uchiha stayed silent, as if waiting for her to continue.

"And…" She bit her lip thoughtfully, "I don't actually know how he'd get here though…"

Sasuke nearly stopped walking at this comment. How he'd get here? But…Kakashi had been here just about all his life… from the wars when he was 5 and 6, until now…

So, it couldn't be him, right?

But…Kakashi had agreed earlier on, and heartedly hugged the poor girl to death. That meant that he knew her, but_... Still…_

"Hey!" She interrupted his thoughts, "What did this place used to be?" Kagome pointed to a booth at the corner of a street, both excited and curious.

Sasuke was about to reply, but froze as he realized, "I-It's nothing, don't get so excited over an abandoned shop."

Kagome pouted, making the Uchiha roll his eyes.

"That's not going to work, now get moving."

Looking back one last time, Kagome sighed. The place sure looked interesting, but if it seemed to bother Sasuke that much, she wouldn't push.

It was that old snack stand that Sasuke's grandparents used to work at before the massacre…but, of course, Kagome didn't know that.

The whole team thought that the whole incident this day brought them all that closer together, especially Kagome and Kakashi.

Hey! They're two bonded friends finally meeting each other again, what would you expect? But in Kagome's thoughts, Kakashi would absolutely never be her mentor.

_No_, not at all.

Clearing away what she considered ridiculous thoughts, Kagome scrambled to catch up with Sasuke, who had seemed to pick up his pace after she had asked him that question.

"Hey! Wait up, would you!" Kagome called out irritably.

Today had been a very surprising and tiring day. Kagome found that her feet felt sore as she ran towards the Uchiha.

121212121212

This time, Kagome found herself waking up past twilight to the sound of whimpering. There was the slight shuffling of sheets and some tossing and turning, as if somebody was in distress. Frowning, Kagome slowly slid herself out of bed, guiding her way around the room by the faint light escaping through the blinds.

She followed the noises, which lead her straight to Sasuke once again.

'_How often does this happen?_' Kagome bit her lip worriedly, hesitating before offering a sign of comfort by resting her hand on top of his and slightly squeezing his fingers, '_The nightmare doesn't seem as violent as before…_'

Sasuke seemed to settle down a bit, so Kagome let go, now too awake to fall back to sleep.

Her feet padded against the cold hardwood floor as she made her way towards the window, fingers running along the wall to guide her.

You could hear the rattling of the blinds as Kagome pulled them up, letting the full rays of the moon spill into the room.

Sighing, Kagome stared at the stars, mesmerized.

Turning around, she took note of how Sasuke looked when he was sleeping. It was like he had changed into a whole different person. Messy hair framed his face, lips slightly parted, his cold demeanor completely diminished.

This magical moment was dispelled though.

Kagome took a last glance and the window and was about to head back to bed, when the whole wall that was facing the street exploded, smoke and fire lighting up the streets and shattered glass glinting and crackling beneath the rubble.

The force of the explosion sent Kagome flying on top of Sasuke, rudely jolting him awake.

Her eyes locked onto the scene through the now destroyed wall.

The village was burning, terribly burning like the worst nightmare you could ever have, explosions lighting up the sky and fire dancing through the buildings, spreading like wildfire through the streets.

* * *

Reviews would be appreciated.

Tenshi-Battosai


	10. Beautiful Fear

**---Sorrows of Yesterday--- **

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto.

Some people are wondering what was with the last chapter's ending…

**Chapter 10: Beautiful Fear**

"Where's Kagome and Sasuke?" Sakura clutched the ends of Neji's scorched shirt, desperately trying to catch his attention. 

Neji whipped his head around, hair flying. His hair band had long since snapped into the fire, "I don't know! I've just got orders from Tsunade-sama to find water, or something of that sort!"

The pink-haired kunoichi let out a worried growl and raced off again, shrieking as another tree gave way.

Villagers were screaming in the distance while dark shadows leapt by, causing more destruction.

"I've got to find Naruto and Kakashi-sensei first!" Sakura burst off into a sprint to the direction of Naruto's apartment. '_I can only hope that Sasuke's strong enough to protect Kagome. No, he'll be fine..._' Yet, Sakura still bit her lip, that little ounce of doubt in her heart, '_But what if they're hurt?_'

Hinata rushed by, Byakugan activated, "I don't see any water in sight! Maybe everyone can turn on their taps?"

"Wait!!!" Shikamaru yelled, gaining their attention, "Don't get water!"

This sent everybody to a halt, "What are you, **crazy?** How do we put out the water then?"

"It's an oil and gas explosion!" Shikamaru tried to explain. "If you add water, then it'll just make it worse!"

After hesitating for a moment, people resumed screaming and Neji and Hinata now rushed to report to Tsunade.

121212121212

"What the hell is going on here?" Sasuke was now wide awake and up, hand on his holster.

They were staring at the blown down wall and the terror that unfolded in the streets.

"_Kagome?_ Where are you?" He kicked away a chunk of wood that had lit on fire and whipped around at the sound of footsteps.

"Sorry," Kagome exclaimed breathlessly. "I had to get my weapons." She was in her fighting attire now.

Sasuke slammed one of his still intact doors shut, changed, and then got out. "Let's go! We have to find out what's going on!"

Nodding, Kagome followed Sasuke down to the streets.

"I can smell gas!" Kagome shouted ahead of her. "I don't' think we'll be able to put this out with water!"

Sasuke nodded, kicking aside a discarded metal pole.

"Tenten!" The Uchiha came to a halt at the sight of the kunoichi, "What's going on?"

"Tsunade-sama says it's an invasion!" Tenten wiped a layer of sweat off her forehead.

"From what village?"

"The village hidden in the stone! We've never actually been in good terms with them." Tenten frantically shook her head, for some reason actually carrying a blanket with her. When a fire lit again nearby, she covered it with the blanket and started stomping on it, successfully putting it out.

"Have you received orders from her?" Kagome finally cut in.

Tenten faced the miko. "Yes, the whole village has! The Jounins and the ANBU have to find the enemy, while the Genins and some Chunins have to lead the village to safety. The rest of the Chunins have to try and put out the fire! It's a bit messed up though, some shinobi with special abilities will do different things too. Honestly, everybody is just doing what suits them."

"Neji's the only Jounin, ne?" Sasuke confirmed.

"Hai, and you know, you would've become one two, if you were not gone for a year."

He shrugged, not seeming to care.

"But I've really got to go help with the fire," Tenten explained, gesturing to her charred blanket, "It's the only thing I could find that would put it out."

Sasuke and Kagome nodded. "So, what are you doing Sasuke?" Kagome asked, as Tenten scurried away.

"We find the Stone-nin. I'm not going to waste my time trying to put out the fire if it's just going to be re-lit again," Sasuke growled, jumping off without warning, Kagome following close behind.

121212121212

"The hidden village in the stone attacked us…why?" Shizune shouted to Tsunade, who was trying to fend off the fire inside the tower.

"I don't know! Put out the fire now, worry later!"

"Tsunade-sama!" Gai-sensei stuck his head into the quickly burning door. "We can't seem to locate Sasuke and that other girl!"

Tsunade looked up. "I think they'll be fine!" '_At least I hope so…_'

"Tsunade-sama!" Kakashi sprinted in this time.

"What's the report?"

"The fire is gas and oil, the whole entire village is nearly destroyed! We've managed to salvage half the Uchiha district, the Hyuuga manor, a bit of the marketplace, some training grounds, and the academy, but nothing else is looking very well!"

"Good enough! Keep on going! Now! And you, Kakashi, should be finding the enemy, not putting out fire!"

121212121212

"Naruto!" Sakura kicked the door down. What was left of it… "Naruto, are you in here!" she nearly screamed.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto ran out to where she was yelling. "Do you have anything to put the fires out with?"

She shook her head rapidly. "But we can't use water! Could you find some blankets or something to smother it with?"

"Not a problem, Sakura-chan!" Naruto beat down a flame on his sleeve and grinned at her for a more reassuring feel, "I'll be fine. Besides, this is good training, ne?"

"Just take care of yourself…please." Sakura whispered.

"Yeah, I will." He hugged her, and then went off.

Sakura thought of her team, and the whole village as her family.

Naruto, Sasuke, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Neji…her brothers.

Hinata, Ino, Tenten…her sisters.

Lee…her love.

And she would do anything in her power to protect them, just like they always do to her. She knew they thought the same about the family too. So whenever something went wrong, everyone would plunge into a state of worry about the other.

Sakura stared into the burning, empty apartment for another minute before turning around and racing back out into the streets. '_I hope nobody is injured…_' The kunoichi stopped for a moment and bit her lip. '_If they are, then I can help them._'

Now, Sakura would be scouting for anybody who was hurt. Besides, that was her job as a medic-nin.

121212121212

"We need to find a way to smother these flames," Neji explained.

"I know that!" Shikamaru frowned and fidgeted as he went into deep thought.

"Umm…Neji-nii-san…" Hinata whispered frantically, shaking his arm.

"What?"

"Would sand work? Sand or dirt?"

Shikamaru immediately snapped out of his thoughts, "That's it!"

The two turned towards their other friend.

"Somebody needs to find Gaara, and somebody needs to find him fast, before the village burns down."

Nodding in understanding, Hinata and Neji quickly went off to find a source of fast communication.

"Hurry it up guys…The village is slowly burning down…" He muttered under his breath, taking another glance at the havoc, gleaming light reflecting in his eyes before he raced off to see if he could locate Chouji.

121212121212

"They have to be around here somewhere." Sasuke explained to Kagome.

_Calm down. Just calm down, relax, and think of a plan… _

"Think about it," Kagome tried to sort it out, "If there are enemies setting all these explosions, they would want to set something off near either buildings that haven't been blown yet or near a lot of people."

"But what would their objective be then?" Sasuke frowned, "To kill people, or to destroy the village?"

Kagome shook her head. "I don't know."

* * *

Reviews would be appreciated.

Tenshi-Battosai


	11. Frightening Resolutions

**---Sorrows of Yesterday---**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto.

**Chapter 11: Frightening Resolutions**

Shadows sprung through the trees, alerting some nearby villagers of the dangers.

"The Stone-nin just went by! Don't just stand there! Somebody run after them!" Kiba growled, beckoning Akamaru closer. "Come on, people!"

But the nearest people were not ninja, and therefore couldn't rush onward if they wanted to.

Taking a step back and looking at the singed town behind him, Kiba took up the liberty to chase the shinobi himself, since nobody else was capable to.

Somehow, that sent a spark of pride down his body, but the Inuzuka forced it out and tried concentrating more on the task at hand.

121212121212

Neji rushed off with Hinata in tow as the two exited the scorched village gates.

There would be no breaks on the way to Suna. They had to get there as soon as possible, and get Gaara back even faster. Other shinobi where busy either trying to find the invaders, while the others where either calming the villagers, or stalling the fires that spread across the village.

Their breath escaped short and hard as the two took their momentary break, hands on their knees and back bent over.

"We…can't stop." Neji forced out, glancing at his cousin.

Hinata silently nodded, this time taking the lead as Neji willed himself to run too.

"Quickly…" Hinata repeated under her breath, muttering as if it were her life.

"We'll get there." The usually silent Neji encouraged, very uncharacteristically, but she didn't question on it.

The circumstances were too dire. Of course, people would start to crack under pressure and do _something_. After what felt like an eternity, what was amazingly only 20 minutes of non-stop running, the two saw the stone buildings of their destination.

Sunagakure.

The Sand-nin guards had nodded to the two Hyuugas as they saw them approaching the village.

"Gaara!" Neji burst hurriedly burst through the Kazekage office doors, Hinata in tow, "Gaara! Konoha's on fire!"

Gaara was thoroughly startled, but remained quite impassive on the outside. "And what do you need my help on this for? Surely, you could use water."

"…Gas fire…"

Gaara raised an eyebrow.

Hinata's cheeks flushed a bit as she repeated it a bit louder, "It's a gas or oil fire or something. We can't put it out with water. People are using blankets and everything, but it isn't enough."

The red-haired Kazekage raised an eyebrow. "And I suppose my sand would help?"

"Yes." Neji nodded.

"Very well. We have to approach quickly." Gaara stood up, scribbling a little note down on a pad of paper. He summoned some sand that seemed to form a platform hovering off the ground. "Get on, it's faster."

"Ah-! Yes!" Hinata prodded it with her foot for a moment before leaning forward and pushing herself onto the sand platform.

Neji did the same.

At last, Gaara stepped on and with a burst of power; the platform was jolted forward and out the large double doors. Hinata gave a wild shriek, clutching onto Neji as the sudden change of speed.

As the three reached their destination in approximately half the time it took to get to Suna, Gaara took the pleasure to start a change of weather by raining some sand down on patches of fire, "I didn't think it would be this serious." He examined the wreckage, "We'll have to work quickly."

"Yeah…thanks." Neji nodded, jumping off the sand platform and running off in another direction, perhaps to inform Tsunade about Gaara's arrival.

121212121212

"There!" Sasuke shouted to Kagome, pointed right.

With a short breath, Kagome nodded, making a sharp turn to the right as they ran. One hand rested on the hilt of her sword, while the other pumped hard to hold her speed.

Sasuke looked down from his place on the trees, jumping.

Kagome had yet to learn how to pour chakra into her feet, so Sasuke was jumping while Kagome just ran below. Soon enough, the two finally started to catch up with the fleeing enemies. Kagome watched as Sasuke abruptly leaped off the branch, making rapid hand seals. She came to a halt, watching him in full interest.

"**Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!"** Sasuke shouted, his feet landing onto the ground just as he finished.

Various balls of flaming fire were shot out, swirling and heading quickly toward their enemies.

Surprisingly, there was a whistling sound, and then it made impact on the Stone-nin's back.

Sasuke and Kagome's eyes widened as the enemy just disappeared with a puff of clearing smoke.

"Shit." Sasuke cursed under his breath, loud enough for Kagome to hear, but not anybody else around them.

Kagome stared at him questionably, wanted to know what just happened.

"It was a clone." The Uchiha was immediately on alert.

The enemy could be anywhere at this point. Sensing his distress, Kagome drew her sword, sliding into a stance, eyes scanning the trees for any sign on movement or anything out of place, "How many were there?"

There was a moment of silence except for the small '_chink_' of a kunai being drawn from its holster, and then he answered, "I saw six."

Kagome nodded, taking in a deep breath.

_Six._

That was an awful lot to take on at their state of fatigue. Especially when Kagome was mentally debating. _To kill, or not to kill?_ She hesitantly brushed her fingers against her bow slung over her shoulder, then to the sword by her waist.

_Sword or bow?_

121212121212

"Shikamaru! Please think of something!" Ino murmured, kicking up some dust.

"I'm trying to! –Don't kick the dust too high!" Shikamaru waved the tan clouds away, coughing a bit when some particles dove into his lungs.

"Sorry, sorry," Ino apologized, "It just seems to help put out the fire."

"Yeah. Neji and Hinata and running to Suna to fetch Gaara," He explained, whipping his head around for any sign of the enemy.

"That creepy sand guy? What for?" She thought for a moment, and then it hit her. "Oh! That's just perfect! It's just it – his sand! He can spread it over the fire."

Shikamaru's eyes locked onto Ino's. "Exactly."

"Okay…let's see if Iruka needs any help, ne?" She swallowed a lump in her throat, clenching a kunai in her left hand as Shikamaru nodded.

"Then let's go…"

"Yeah."

"We still haven't found Chouji." Shikamaru's face took on a slightly panicked expression, but relaxed as a hand was laid comfortingly on his shoulder.

"He's a strong guy. I'm sure he's fine."

1212121212

"Ino!" Iruka waved over.

He looked positively exhausted. His eyelids were half-lidded, and right after he waved, his arm went limp. "I'm so…we're so thankful you're here…could you help?"

"Absolutely." Ino nodded. "What do you need help on?"

Shikamaru glanced at where they were.

The villagers were settled right around the Hokage Monument, a tunnel surprisingly, leading right into the mountain, where their emergency gatherings took place. There were supplies of blankets, pillows, chairs, and a little fountain of water at the other corner of a room.

"They won't calm down…" Iruka shook his head ruefully, rubbing a patch of dirt off his cheekbone. "No matter what I say, everybody's worried. It's natural, but it's scaring the children."

Ino and Shikamaru nodded in understanding.

"Kakashi came a couple minutes ago to help, he's watching guard hear the doorway," Iruka explained.

"Where are you going then?" Shikamaru questioned, noticing that he left himself out of the plan.

"I need to report to the Hokage and see what's been going on."

The two nodded again, beckoning Iruka to go.

"Let's go in." They approached the tunnel, to be greeted by Kakashi.

After a little chat about what they've been doing around the village, Ino and Shikamaru went deeper in, taking turns and twists until they started to hear the sound of low cries and murmuring.

"I think we're here." Shikamaru stated under his breath, pushing a door open, the hinges creaking.

It was pretty hectic. The most complicated part was calming everybody down, but the practical needs were taken care of in a flash.

Ino felt exhausted, but still offered a cheery smile to those who needed comfort, wiping away a thin layer of sweat with the back of her hand.

Shikamaru was tired, so he settled for sitting in the corner of the room, by a table after he was done fetching water and blankets.

It felt like hours since they had any other contact with ninjas outside the tunnels, but had only been a half. There were no clocks to keep track of time, or windows to observe the goings of the other shinobi duties.

Ino dragged her feet along the dirt floor, chewing on her lower lip. _How's Sakura doing?_

A shoulder rested itself onto Ino's shoulder, making her turn around, "It'll be alright. Everybody's strong. Everyone can pull through this," Shikamaru tried to reassure Ino, rubbing small circles on her back for comfort, "I believe we'll be just fine."

* * *

Reviews would be appreciated!

Tenshi-Battosai


	12. There Were Six

**---Sorrows of Yesterday---**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto.

Alright! In this chapter, we'll be focusing a bit on Naruto, but mostly on Gaara, Kagome, and Sasuke, since they haven't been getting a lot of attention in the story lately. There will be Neji and Hinata though, since they've been working so hard.

The story is actually quite dramatic overall, in my opinion, at least, and I hope you guys don't mind. It's a thing of habit for me, I guess.

**Chapter 12: There Were Six**

"Out! Out! Out!" Naruto emphasized each stomp with a louder word, the trampled blanket withering beneath him. Underneath the blanket, flames were slowly being reduced to small cinders.

The blonde gingerly picked up the tattered blanket, shaking it to see clouds of dust burst out. He coughed and waved the ash away.

Naruto took note of how the ashes looked after he put the fire out.

The ash looked like it was swimming in something oddly slick and gooey. The substance was clear, apart from the ash, and mildly thick. There were also patches of the substance on Naruto's blanket.

_Oil._

Just like Sakura mentioned. Why and where would the invading village get their oil to produce this fire? But the oil on the blanket wouldn't do any good now.

"Naruto?"

He whipped his head around, "Gaara? What are you doing here?"

"The Hyuugas got me from my village by Hokage's orders." Gaara explained a bit monotonously, the cork to his gourd rattling in its hole a bit in anticipation.

"You're here to help?" Naruto lightened up, "Great! With your sand, right?"

The Kazekage nodded silently, demonstrating to Naruto how it would work properly. Slowly, a stream of fine sand slid out of Gaara's gourd and hovered above the ground before shooting off to the nearest lit building.

Naruto watched in fascination as the fire raged for a split second, and then died down, the faint tan residue of sand lingering in the air.

"Yes!" Naruto exclaimed, "That looks way easier! Could you do more?"

Gaara nodded again as he followed after a speeding Naruto. He kept at a slow pace, occasionally stopping to just step on a weak flame or take care of a campfire-sized fire.

Soon enough, an exhausted Naruto came into view.

"You use up too much energy," Gaara commented distastefully, smothering the last of the fire that the two could see. There were many more, but they hadn't gotten to that yet.

Naruto just stuck his tongue out, half teasing and panting. He brushed some dead cinders off his sleeves and wildly shook his blanket again, making Gaara wave an arm around in an effort to clear the air, "I'll do fine on my own. You can do whatever you need to do."

"Hn." The Kazekage just turned around and walked off; a sign that he understood.

Naruto grinned at his back, where the gourd was strapped.

Gaara whipped his head to the side once he was over a hill. He could've sworn he saw a shadow pass by from there.

For a moment, he contemplated whether he should go or not, then finally, he came to a conclusion, walking off in the direction where the shadow had bolted from.

121212121212

The doors slammed open again, making Tsunade wince, "What now?"

"Tsunade-sama!" Neji announced; Hinata right behind him, both out of breath.

"What?" Tsunade was shocked. "You're back already? But it's a three to four day trip to Suna! It isn't possible for you to get here and back so quickly, even on the situation at the moment!"

Hinata nodded warily. "But Tsunade-sama…the village is burning down, and we needed Gaara-san to get here quickly…and…and…" Her face finally gained the exhausted, strained look on her face, and then Hinata started to haphazardly lean forward.

"Hinata!" Shizune and Tsunade ran toward the wavering Hyuuga.

A step before they got there, Neji started to sway too, crumbling onto the ground with a loud _thump, _Hinata following not long after.

"Neji! Hinata!"

121212121212

_Sword or bow?_

Kagome was forced to make a quick decision as a shinobi bolted out of the bushes and dived at Sasuke. Another soon leaped out in Kagome's direction, and out of sheer instinct, and her years of continuous use, Kagome drew her bow, notching an arrow and pointing it at the ninja.

Glaring at the smirking stone-nin in front of her, Kagome released her arrow, only to find a cloud of smoke '_Shoot! Another clone?_' Kagome cursed. She shifted into her stance once again, drawing another wooden arrow.

"Kagome!" Sasuke shouted as he kicked away an enemy.

One lay dead beside him. Five more to go.

_Mistake #1: Diverting your concentration._

"Kagome! Watch your back!" He grabbed a shuriken and hurled it towards Kagome with precise accuracy.

The miko's pupils dilated. '_He's attacking me? –No!_' She watched as the small weapon sailed behind her and hit something that hissed. Kagome whipped around to find an enemy at her back. With a little shriek, she released another arrow through his stomach, pinning him to a tree.

The shinobi let out a groan, slumping against the bark.

Four more.

Kagome turned to Sasuke to see that he was already busy with another enemy.

"**Shishi Rendan!**" Sasuke performed a series of taijutsu moves, thrashing the ninja deep into the ground.

Three.

Another tackled him, and two charged at Kagome, all grinning mirthlessly, kunai in hand.

Sasuke ran around the ninja, making him blink when the Uchiha suddenly 'disappeared'.

Kagome was just about to shoot, when a smooth voice whispered into her left ear, making a faint pink blush spread across her cheeks, '_Gather them into the corner with the boulder_.' Surprised, she jerked her head to the side, to find nobody there.

"Your attention is here!" A stone-nin roared.

The miko shot a quick glance at Sasuke, who nodded, and then diverted his attention elsewhere. Biting her lip, Kagome shot another arrow, searing pink light spurting off the tip, surprising everybody in the clearing.

'_Was that…chakra…?_' Sasuke questioned in his mind, turning back to the single ninja he was battling with.

Whatever it was, it was sure working.

The arrow had skinned a ninjas' shoulder, making him hiss in pain at from the peculiar wound that was now there. It was sizzling, burning, and it stung like _hell_. He stared at it in horror.

Now every time that Kagome shot an arrow, it drove them back, one shinobi stumbling, and another jumping so they wouldn't get hit.

Soon enough, it drove them into the corner, where Sasuke was currently fighting.

As she saw Sasuke take a leap back, the miko did the same, sensing that something was going to happen.

In an instant, the injured shinobi tripped over a trap wire, making his so-called comrade scowl at his foolishness. They didn't completely have time to react to his mistake though, as about a dozen kunai shot out of the bushes towards them. They jumped up to dodge it, only to meet…

"**Katon: Goukakkyu no Jutsu!**"

Because of their momentum going up, the Stone-nin failed to dodge the jutsu, therefore becoming enveloped in the flames. Some shrill screams were heard before they went quiet, the fireball dispersing.

Kagome let out a breath she never knew she was holding, the image of the magnificent attack engraved in her mind. Soon enough, she would be able to use those sorts of attacks too. Soon. She found herself sighing, "Thank kami…it's finally over…"

_Mistake #2: Letting your guard down._

Sasuke and Kagome just stood there for a few moments, doing nothing, contemplating what to do next.

"We should report back to Tsunade-sama," Sasuke muttered quietly.

"Aa…"

"How do you think the others are doing?" Kagome murmured thoughtfully.

"Fine. They're capable of handling their own situation. I just wonder what state the village will be in when we get back."

"Yeah, you're right."

_Mistake #3: Relaxing._

"I finally realize that I feel so tired now…heh," Kagome smirked. "It's almost morning… --look, the sun is starting to rise. I haven't had any sleep at all!"

Sasuke nodded.

They both let out a barely audible sigh, closing their eyes.

_Mistake #4: Sealing your view of your surroundings._

Sasuke cracked one eye open at the sound of a bird chirping. '_What?_' His eyes snapped right open as he realized something a second too late, "Kagome! Watch out!" '_Shit! Why didn't I sense him?_'

* * *

Reviews would be appreciated.

Tenshi-Battosai


	13. Discoveries

**---Sorrows of Yesterday---**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto.

Yosh! People are wondering/fretting about how Kagome seems so weak…well, you see, I've got this story plan out and well…it's coming along. It's somewhere along the lines of my story plan and I'm thinking:

Since Kagome has basically just gotten to Konoha, she hasn't completely adjusted yet. As soon as she learns a couple things, then maybe something might start going on.

Thanks for your support so far!

**Chapter 13: Discoveries**

'_Shit! Why didn't I sense him?_' Sasuke cursed, watching the horror unfold. 

Sure, Sasuke was an experienced shinobi, though with his usual lack of sleep, _he didn't sleep much anyways_ and having to fight and run all night long, _right after that basketball game_ it was exhausting. Thankfully, he didn't even have to activate the Sharingan, which was still half under the control of Orochimaru's seal, even though he was dead. _He cursed that snake._

Kagome snapped her eyes open, frowning. "What?" Following Sasuke's eyes, she turned around to see yet a seventh Stone-nin diving down from the sky – heading right towards Kagome.

"Kagome!" Sasuke willed himself forward, running up to where Kagome was standing, and with a second left to spare, shoved Kagome out of the way, leaving him wide open for an attack.

The attack that was meant for Kagome was thrust right into Sasuke's stomach; jagged teeth-like blades dug into his skin and stuck out the other side.

The stone-nin didn't really care. He at least hurt somebody.

For a moment there, it seemed as if time had frozen; and Sasuke slowly glared at the stone-nin. He grasped his hand around the handle of the sword and still watching the enemy, pulled the blade out.

It was excruciating pain, but the Uchiha felt utterly numb.

He didn't know why he was doing this, but Sasuke then took a step forward, with ragged breaths. Pushing all his weight ahead of him, he swung the blade at the enemy before he could react.

Blood splattered.

There was a pause before Sasuke really confirmed it.

The enemy was dead.

"S-Sasuke…?" Kagome stared up at him from where she has remained after falling when he pushed her aside, "Sasuke….are you okay…?"

Breathing heavily, Sasuke merely glanced down at Kagome, a bit of warmth in his eyes that she missed; and then slowly, he started to stagger, trying to maintain his balance.

Kagome scrambled to her feet and steadied him before the Uchiha's knees gave way and he fell unconscious as the miko struggled to keep the man's weight up in her arms. Terrified, and not really knowing what to do, Kagome slowly rested him on the ground over a patch of settled grass, brushing the dirt off it.

Blood was gushing out of his serious wound…the blade had gone in, in such a way, that it didn't hit his organs, but could still be fatal.

Somehow, Kagome had the nagging feeling that Sasuke had been able to do that himself, since she saw with her own eyes, that the ninja had not intended to miss his organs at all.

Kagome stared at the thick, crimson blood stained grass, wondering, if she actually tried, would it work?

Her eyes shifted to her hands, '_What if…?_'

Slowly, Kagome lowered her hands to Sasuke's wound and bit her lip in concentration. You could start to see a faint pink glow emit from her hands and attempt to heal the fatal wound.

Frowning, Kagome realized that the blade has been jagged, torn in such a way, that the tissue could be un-repairable.

From this new revelation, Kagome started to cry. It started out as staring forlornly, and then tears started to form in her eyes, until she couldn't stop them from flowing.

After several minutes, she told herself firmly that crying would not help the situation, due to the past experience, and tried healing the wound once again.

Her efforts hardly helped at all, but they were not put to waste.

The ripped and jagged edges of his skin gently lifted up and slowly wove with the others.

Kagome regretfully trimmed an inch off each of his bangs with his kunai, placing it beside his wound as she had learned from Kaede.

As the pink glow enveloped the wound once again, the strands of her air started to weave into the injury, the raw skin patching up and healing.

She let out a shaky breath, sagging low against Sasuke's chest in relief.

She didn't use enough power to completely heal it, but the least she could do was close the wound. There was still the dilemma of internal bleeding and more complicated matters. Besides, if she used all her energy, she wouldn't be able to get Sasuke immediate attention.

Careful of the wound, Kagome worked her arms underneath his body, gently pulling him up in to her arms. Her weak knees shook as she stood up, and she staggered a bit under his weight before balancing herself out.

At this point, Kagome's weapons started to get extremely uncomfortable since she was carrying a person, but she didn't take them off.

Unsure of which way to get back to the village, Kagome tried to retrace her steps, breaking into a fast walk. If she ran, her movements could make the raw injury worse.

121212121212 

After at least half an hour, Kagome, weary and tired, found familiar surroundings.

They were near the Uchiha District.

'_Maybe Tsunade-sama could do something…_' But then Kagome thought about how far away the building was, and how much energy she had left.

Would she even last that long?

Exhausted, Kagome dimly looked up as a dark shadow loomed behind her.

A tall man with red hair, piercing green eyes, and a gourd stood there, slightly looking down at her with an eyebrow raised when he saw the crumpled form in her arms.

Kagome seemed to pull Sasuke closer to her upon seeing a stranger. She would draw a weapon, but she didn't want to abandon him. This problem was resolved with the conclusion about trying to make peace. "I'm Kagome…Sasuke's hurt and I need to find Tsunade-sama."

He nodded, burning her under his scrutiny, "I see. Sabaku no Gaara; she should be in her office." Gaara turned around and paused. "Are you coming?"

She let out a tired scowl, "Like this?"

Gaara almost seemed exasperated, even though his mask showed indifference. He turned around again, using the sand to lift Sasuke out of Kagome's arms, supporting his body, and pulled Kagome up into his arms, sighing when he resumed his journey to the Hokage tower.

121212121212 

Apart from all the havoc in the tower, there was a small, soft knock on Tsunade's door, barely heard, but somehow making itself heard over all the noise.

"Come in," Tsunade bit out seriously, pausing as she saw the Kazekage step in with Kagome in his arms and Sasuke, seemingly injured nearby. "What is the meaning of this?" She blurted out immediately, her eyes scanning Sasuke's battered form.

"He's injured…" Kagome stifled a yawn. "Could you please…-I sealed the wound…but…I don't have enough energy to…heal his internal wound."

"I see…" Tsunade nodded quite calmly, too worried to realize the latter of what she said, "Shizune!"

"Yes?" The apprentice turned her head so fast she could have sworn she got a whiplash.

"There's no time to get him into the hospital. We'll probably have to perform the healing ritual here."

The sand started to leak away, sinking the Uchiha on to the middle of the floor.

Hastily, Tsunade ran her eyes over the little bruise where the wound was, using chakra to further examine the injury and her finger to gently prod the bruise, "Nothing vital has been damaged. You can relax at that. Some tissue underneath the skin has just been torn away at the back and front. It's easily repairable."

Kagome wriggled herself out of Gaara's grip and sunk down next to Sasuke's still form. "Thank you…Tsunade-sama." She let out a long breath.

"But…may I ask where you learned these healing techniques?" Tsunade seemed to realize what she had said earlier about healing.

"An…an old, close friend of mine from far away…"

"I see…" Tsunade eyed Kagome tersely, "Gaara, do you have a report, please?" _"I won't forget what she just said. There's more to her than we know."_

The Kazekage nodded. "I've scoured the village. All that remains of the fire are ashes and cinders. By the looks of it, the Stone-nin have been disposed of."

The miko shifted once pushing her arms to will her legs to move. Kagome used her knee as a support, staggering as she stood up.

She was shocked when she noticed Neji and another quite similar looking girl lying next to him near the Hokage's desk. They seemed to be unconscious.

At the moment, the door, without warning, slammed open again, startling Kagome and Tsunade, where as Gaara showed no sign of emotion other than whipping his head around.

"Tsunade-sama!" Kiba and Akamaru burst through, dragging a bloody body along with them, "This Stone-nin we killed…" He beckoned Tsunade closer until she was looking directly at the ninja, "We thought the headband looked too big…"

Akamaru pulled on the ninja's forehead protector, to reveal another forehead protector with three sort of connected ovals on it. The Stone village forehead protector actually seemed to be made out of foil with a Henge around it to disguise it.

"...These Stone-nins, are actually Cloud-nins."

* * *

Reviews would be appreciated.

Tenshi-Battosai


	14. Don't Do It!

**---Sorrows of Yesterday---**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto.

Okay…some time ago, in a far away era… (O.O) somebody asked me to put some Neji and Kagome fluff in, but I'm not sure if they even read my story anymore…meh… And in my dim memory, somewhere along the line, somebody asked for Naruto and Kagome fluff, and just now Gaara and Kagome fluff… Kami…I'd love to, but it either might take a while, or infinitely hard for me, lol. If I can't get it in the story, then gomen nasai…

Alright, once in a while, I randomly take requests if it's possible. A person asked for this chapter to be longer than usual, and a faster update. Here you go.

I would like to thank Ozette forever for reporting an act of plagiarism on this story. Tons of cookies and milk to you. (Yay!) Though, the person hasn't responded yet. (Sigh)

**Chapter 14: Don't Do It!**

"It seems as though the Cloud-nin were targeting the Hyuuga clan again," Tsunade explained to the many ninja gathered in her office, "Fortunately for us, their target, Hyuuga Neji, and Hyuuga Hinata, were away on a mission to speak to Gaara, and the ninjas were disposed of before they reached the Hyuuga household."

The ANBU will be taking care of any current missions outside Konoha thus far, as we ask the Jounin and Chunin to help with the village repairs. Students will resume their classes at the academy as usual. Genin can take care of any missions inside the village, and any civilians injured during this invasion will be asked to remain inside the hospital ward until confirmed healed. Is there any questions or objections?"

"What is the cost of the damage?" Kakashi sighed.

Tsunade flicked a large stack of paperwork distastefully "Infinite."

"Where will be live during the repairs?"

"We ask for the villagers that have undamaged homes to show hospitality and take in as many people as possible, since we have no other options. Anything else?"

"What of us unemployed villagers? What would we do if we can't work?"

The Hokage paused for a moment, and then something clicked in her mind. "We're trying to manage as many funds as we can to keep this village together. The civilians will be provided with as many funds as we can contribute to you, while still paying for repairs. All shinobi on missions will have to have a small tax on their paycheck in the meantime too so we can keep up with everything."

There were a few murmurs amongst the crowd.

"Why did the Cloud-nin attack in the first place, other than the Hyuuga clan, setting the village on fire?"

There was a tense silence in the room, the question seemingly lingering in the air.

"…I'm sorry. I have no answer to that."

Some shouts of outrage were heard, with chatter and murmuring.

Over the noise, Tsunade shouted a firm, "Dismissed! No more questions!"

The crowd immediately started to depart through the doors and windows.

Yes, there no windows in the Hokage tower, due to the warm weather they always had.

Tsunade sighed, her forehead making a loud 'bang' on her desk. Why must there be so much paperwork?

Shizune bit her lip. She knew that there was a lot of work to do, but the stress was still getting to everyone and she wouldn't bother the Hokage until at least the end of the week.

At least, she hoped she didn't have to.

With the village in such a vulnerable state, it was no wonder that the Cloud-nin chose to attack at this time. And after they attacked, the village was now so prone to invasions. Anything could happen and all the villagers had to be on guard.

121212121212 

"Neji and Hinata are fine," A medic-nin reassured Hiashi, of whom who had just burst through the hospital doors.

"Explain." Hiashi nodded.

"It is extremely unusual, and seemingly impossible to reach Sunagakure in the time span of 20 minutes. Our theory is that they just extremely overworked their body and chakra and just need rest. However, Hinata has appeared to pull a muscle too badly that it has created a notch of a rip in her knee."

"Is it repairable?"

"Yes, no worries. We'll undergo the treatment within a few days, after we tend to the many other patients."

121212121212 

"Hahaha! In their faces!" Naruto snickered, slamming the door behind him and leaning against it.

"What are you doing here?"

"_Ehh…?_" The blonde whipped his head around, "Neji?"

Neji looked at him exasperatedly.

There was a silence where the two heard some shouts down the hallway as the workers in the hospital scrambled to find their 'missing' patient who now resided in the same room as Neji.

"Have you seen anyone lately?"

Naruto nodded, "Kiba and Akamaru's fine, they're just resting. Tenten, Lee, Chouji and a few others just have some minor burns that need that sticky stuff called ointment and I haven't seen anybody else. Have you seen anybody yet, Neji?"

There was no answer.

"Oi, Neji?" Naruto turned around to find a sleeping Hyuuga with a slight smile on his face, so small that you would've missed it if you didn't put him under your scrutiny, "Ah…I'll just leave him alone now…"

Carefully, Naruto opened the door with a creak, slipping out and gently shutting it, only to duck into the room across the hallway to avoid the medic-nins trying to find him.

121212121212 

Kagome sighed. She rested her hand on top of Sasuke's knuckles as he slept and listened to the rhythmic pace of his breathing.

His large mansion hadn't been too badly damaged. The only repairs that were needed were his room, and the two beside his. That room that he didn't let her into was not harmed, nor anything else.

To think, it was her fault that Sasuke was in this building in the first place.

If…she had been more alert, then maybe they could've prevented anything from happening at all…

Kagome stood up and walked to the window, opening it to let some fresh air into the room. Peering outside, she discovered that his hospital room was on the top floor. Making a quick decision, Kagome stepped on the window frame and hoisted herself onto the room, hooking her arms around her knees and looking at the sky.

If…_if she hadn't been here at all…_

All those times; his hospitality, the training grounds, the _hit._ It felt as if she was asking for too much, and not giving enough back...

Something inside of her snapped, making her stand up without warning. Her feet slid a bit on the uneven part of the roof, making her shriek, and quickly regaining her balance,she hurriedly climbed back through the window and into Sasuke's hospital room.

Here, Kagome calmed down a bit and sighed, staring at Sasuke's sleeping form for a minute. He had been awake a couple hours ago, but…it looked as if he had been sleeping for a while. Closing her eyes, the miko gave the Uchiha an awkward half hug on the bed and then turned around, not looking back.

He would've been better off if they hadn't met at all.

Guess she would be using it after all. Kagome glanced down at her filled drawstring bag, shrugging it onto her shoulders.

Her decision was made. A quite foolish decision, but it was hers.

121212121212

"Sasukeeeee! Are you awake yet?" Naruto opened the door. He rolled his eyes when he saw that his rival was still asleep. "Figures," the blonde grumbled, walking right up to the side of Sasuke's bed. "Sasuke's too weak to be awake now—hey, ---_oww!_"

A hand rapidly slid out and grabbed Naruto's wrist, twisting it until it was dangerous to breaking.

"I get the point, I get it! Now let go, teme!" Naruto yelped, jerking his arm away when Sasuke let go.

The blonde hissed, rubbing his thumb back and forth over his wrist. "Damn it…!"

"You woke me up. What do you want?" Sasuke scowled.

Naruto straightened his back. "Tsunade-baachan wants to see everybody in her office."

The Uchiha raised an eyebrow. "How do you know this if you've been running away from the medic-nins all day, idiot?"

"What? How do you---?"

"It's kind of obvious," He replied bluntly.

"Well…to tell you the truth, I just wanted to go in there and tell Granny we wanted to train and get out of the hospital—"

"I don't want any business with your schemes."

"But…" Naruto tried to explain, "Don't you get the feeling that something bad is going to happen again?"

There was a pause. "Go away."

Frustrated, Naruto flung his arms up and stomped out the room. "Fine! Ignore me if you will! Sure!"

It was finally silent.

But Naruto was right, Sasuke knew. Whatever was going to happen, important or not, would affect him in some way. He sunk back into the covers, and then frowned. It smelled like rice tea with a touch of melancholy…somebody was here…

Sasuke bolted out of the hospital bed, clutching his stomach as a sharp pain burst through. Taking a deep breath, he sucked it up, running out of the room. "Naruto! Wait!"

Further down the hallway, Uzumaki Naruto turned around.

"Let's go see Tsunade."

Naruto broke into a silly smile, turning around. "Hurry up, Sasuke-teme! You're so slow!"

He rolled his eyes, following after the hyped up blonde.

121212121212

On this bright, cheerful day in Konoha, a lone figure stood at the front of the large wooden gates.

She was leaving. Leaving this village full of wretched memories, hoping to start anew somewhere else, somewhere where nobody would know her, where nobody would question her past, her wrongs, rights, and most of all, her broken feelings. Her foot stepped forward, about to leave before the guards came back.

"Wait!"

Kagome whipped her head around to the direction of the voice.

"What were you planning to do? Please…please tell me that you weren't just going to…" In a lower voice, Sakura finished, "Going to…leave…"

Not responding, Kagome closed her eyes and took another step forward.

Sakura's deadpan voice interrupted her indifferent demeanor, "What you did and didn't do wasn't your fault…we all have our good and bad memories…but…we shouldn't always solve it differently…"

The miko turned her head away, eyes still closed and took yet another step forward, inches from leaving the village. She whispered nearly inaudibly, "It's for the best…"

And before Sakura could make any move to stop her friend, Kagome broke off into a run off the path and into somewhere unknown.

Being left there, alone in front of the village gates…Sakura sensed a terrible feeling of de'ja vu…

Her shoulders were shaking, but she didn't have it in her heart to cry.

Not this time.

Sakura took a step forward, contemplating something, but then she seemed to change her mind, turning around and breaking into a brisk walk to the Hokage tower.

121212121212

"Absolutely not." Tsunade shook her head firmly. "You two need to heal, and I will not let you out of the hospital, especially not you, Sasuke, while you're still sustaining a wound like that."

The Uchiha sighed, exasperated. "I feel fine."

"But you're not." The Hokage stood her ground. "And you, brat," she turned to Naruto, "You're staying here even if I have to bolt you to the walls." Tsunade rubbed her temples. "And you'll stay there, unlike last time."

The door to the office was knocked on, and opened before Tsunade responded.

"Tsunade-sama…" Sakura bowed her head low in distress.

Tsunade, along with Naruto and Sasuke turned around.

"Tsunade-sama…Kagome's left the village…I think she feels responsible for what happened to Sasuke, but…she left…"

"_What?_" Naruto shouted, "You've got to be kidding me! Did you try to stop her?"

Sakura nodded solemnly. "I did…but I can't force her…"

With Sakura murmuring quiet responses, Naruto yelling his confused outrage, and Tsunade trying to shut him up, the three eventually forgot that the silent Uchiha was ever in the room at all.

"Tsunade, may I have permission to pursue her?" Even with his smooth and quiet voice, the question somehow managed to travel over the racket.

Naruto and Sakura turned around when they heard this possibility.

The Hokage's lips lay in a firm line. "You have permission, but you have only a week. You must return in the span of a week. We cannot spare any more time, I'm sorry, due to the state the village is currently in. I don't even know why I'm letting you chase after a girl in this condition."

"Uhmm…" Sakura spoke out in a whisper, "May…may I go too?"

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed wholeheartedly.

Sighing, Tsunade nodded, picking up a pencil. "Hurry up and go, you're wasting time, starting now."

"Yes!" Naruto grinned. "Sasuke-teme, Sakura-chan! Pack your stuff, we're going now!"

Shaking his head, Sasuke performed a series of hand seals, disappearing with a slight 'poof' into his home.

"If you're finished first, wait at the gate, kay'?" Sakura nodded, also departing for a short span of time.

121212121212

As soon as the three all gathered, Sakura idly commented, "It just seemed like minutes ago that Kagome came and left. Hopefully, we can convince her to come back."

"We will bring her back," Naruto replied confidently.

"…Nothing was her fault…"

"What do you mean, Sasuke?" Sakura frowned.

"Nothing was her fault. It was my decision to take the hit," Sasuke explained. There was something that just drew him to her. It was a strange and foreign feeling to him, one that he never experienced before. It was probably just him caring for her like teammates, nothing more.

It seemed Sasuke had nothing else to say after that, and finally, they got going.

It was silent.

* * *

Uhmm…please forgive me for giving Kagome such a unique smell… (Wahh…) I just thought rice tea smelt good, and yeah…so I granted her with that smell. And yes, I do know where the story is going. 

I didn't put the proper suffix for Tsunade at the end of Sasuke's sentence because I didn't feel that he would be a type of person to do that…I don't know…

Tenshi-Battosai 


	15. Searching

**---Sorrows of Yesterday---**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto.

Oh yeah, I feel stupid… I was looking back on this story, and I realized I didn't tell you, and to whom that assumed, you were right…

Orochimaru is supposed to be dead… (Sigh) Yeah, so now you know.

I was caught up with redoing the story plan because I looked it through and some parts were sort of cliché in my opinion, with a few unrealistic things about it. But, it's all good now.

**Chapter 15: Searching**

She knew she could've tried harder. She knew she could've put in more effort for a friend she wanted to keep…but her body had not agreed.

Instead, she had foolishly frozen, dry tears flowing out of her eyes, hands clenched and body shaking.

Was she such a failure as to lack the ability to keep new friends? Was she such a failure as to stand there without action as her new friend's back slowly faded into the distance out the gates of the village?

Her knees collapsed and in result, her body followed, landing in a heap on the dirt path; 30 minutes after departure.

"Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan! What's wrong? Are you feeling okay?" She only heard the shuffling of feet rushing towards her, flashes of orange before bright blue eyes peered into her dull jade green ones.

"Sakura. Get up." Sasuke stopped beside her.

Furiously, Naruto glared at Sasuke, "How could you be so heartless at a time like this? There's something wrong with Sakura-chan, and all you can say to her is to get up? I can't believe you!"

Sakura turned his head away, continuing to walk down the path. "We're wasting time just standing here. Every minute, every second that passes, something inevitable may happen."

Piercing blue eyes stared down the Uchiha fan on the back of Sasuke's shirt as he disappeared up the hill, "Sasuke, you bastard! -"

"-No, Naruto," Sakura cut in, standing up with the blonde's help, "Sasuke's right. With every passing moment, we could stop something if it happened. This is for Kagome's sake."

His eyes softened as his head bowed down. "…Alright…if you're okay…then let's catch up to Sasuke before we loose him too…"

"Thank you, Naruto."

They were all family, bonded like brothers and sisters, and each cared in their own way. They pulled through knowing that each other thought about another, no matter how indifferent one would seem.

121212121212

"Do you think Kagome would try to blend into publicity?" Sakura suggested, remembering a town that was nearby to Konoha, "I mean…she could try to stop at an inn or get food. At least, maybe something of the sorts…"

Sasuke shook his head, "She never received any currency from Tsunade, and the countries far away have a different type of currency too, so even if she did have money from where she came from, she couldn't use it here."

"Oh…" Her hopes deflated.

The drizzle of rain started to splatter onto their travel packs at a slow and steady pace, soaking their clothes as they went on.

"I'd love to continue…" Naruto grimaced, "We've got to continue, but we might get sick in the rain."

Sasuke and Sakura nodded.

Sakura suggested something from her idea earlier. "True enough. Let's go to the town nearby. I'm sure we have enough money for a room at an inn and some food."

"He's a very greedy innkeeper," Sasuke stated placidly, voicing out everybody's thoughts.

121212121212

"Excuse me, sir, but could we have a room for three please?"

The innkeeper, deciding that since they appeared to be ninja, they were rich, immediately pushed for more money, "Why have one room when you could have a room each instead?" He grinned.

Sakura and Naruto shared looks, "No…It's fine. One room, please."

"Five hundred dollars for all three of you."

Sasuke glared. "We're not stupid."

Disappointed, the man sighed, "Fine. A hundred and twenty-five dollars altogether."

They paid, setting their belongings inside the room, and then locked the door, walking out to find something to eat.

It was already sunset, and so far, they had no luck. If they didn't find a lead anytime soon, then before they knew it, she would probably cross the borders of the Fire Country, where they wouldn't be able to pursue her any longer.

The prospect of that wasn't exciting at all.

121212121212

Perhaps this was just fate? Knowing that she would never find happiness, never find one she could stay with and love, because of her cursed guilt and knack for screwing everything up.

'_This is life,_' Kagome told herself firmly, but still couldn't help but get a little choked up about it.

Had they noticed that she had left? Would they even care when they found out? Probably not. She considered falling into a ditch and dying at the moment, but…her memories…

_Kun-loon sighed, managing a weak, wry smile. "Sweetie… Are you sure you want to do this?"_

_Kagome hesitated before replying, "…Yes…"_

"_Fine then…" Her mother closed her eyes in defeat. "Just…promise me you'll be okay, alright?"_

"_Alright…" _

_They then hugged each other for comfort, "I'll miss you so much, mom…"_

"_Yes…" Kun-Loon mumbled back, "And…Another thing…You understand that if you go to another place…then…you have made the dedication and promise to live…I don't want to spend every day for the rest of my life worrying if you're dead or not…that…I just don't know…"_

"_Mom…" Kagome held onto her mother's shoulders, staring straight into her eyes. "I will live. I will live because all the people that have died in the Feudal Era deserved to live, yet…I was nearly the only one left alive in the end. I will live…for myself…and for all the lives that were lost way back then, to show them what living is really like."_

"_I'm so glad…" Kun-Loon's eyes shone with tears, and she sniffed, giving Kagome a tight hug, whispering, "Now…go say goodbye to Souta. I'm sure he's taking this harder than anybody else."_

…prevented her from even trying.

Kagome cast her gaze towards the endless sky, '_…I better find a place to say for the night. The air is humid and I sense rain coming from the east…'_

She had started a slow and steady walk, but then contemplated the possibility that they might have actually sent somebody to hunt her down from Konoha, or even go themselves. This new thought caused her to pick up her pace into a slow jog, the years or stamina finally helping her out on something.

After several long hours, the running started to take its toll on her body and with short breaths, Kagome slowed to a walk, panting.

She was hungry, but it was too soaked to make a suitable campfire anywhere now…especially with the dry wood all soaked with water.

Kagome sighed, '_So…hungry…wait! –It's a town! Maybe they'll have something to eat there!'_

Her enthusiasm ran out as the remembered that she had no money…

'_…I'll go there anyways to see if I could get anything to eat…and find a place to stay later on.'_

121212121212_  
_

Kagome clutched her bag tighter as she entered the bustling marketplace, merchants yelling out deals and the pleasant smells of cooked food wafting in the air. It made her stomach grumble, making her blush in embarrassment, even though the people around her didn't seem to notice.

"Excuse me, miss…you look hungry…would you like to come to our home and have dinner with us?"

Kagome whipped her head around behind her to find an elderly lady carrying some groceries. She examined her cautiously, until the lady explained, "We always take in travelers for the night, and I did make a tad bit too much dinner tonight…it wouldn't trouble our family if you ate with us."

Biting her lip, Kagome nodded, answering in a quiet voice, "Thank you in advance for your hospitality…"

"It's no problem, really." The elderly lady smiled kindly. "This way, I believe. If you could help me down the street…my vision is not what it used to be…"

121212121212

"Old man!" Naruto barked at the small, outdoor restaurant owner, waving his arms around to catch his attention.

They had their food, and were almost finished…but Naruto desperately needed some answers, "Has a…black haired girl around our age pass into this restaurant anytime today?"

He frowned and stopped by their table, "Could I get a bit more of a description?"

Sakura decided to help, seeing as Naruto was struggling. "She had blue eyes…and was carrying a drawstring bag…She had a sword by her waist…and…yeah…"

"Sorry." The man shook his head. "Never seen anybody like that. Everybody that has come, apart from you guys, have had brown eyes."

Naruto sagged, "At this rate, she'll be out of here in no time!" He moaned, pulling his hair.

"Stop" Sasuke stated calmly. Inside, he was worrying too.

"…A girl with black hair, blue eyes, and a sword, you say?"

The three jerked their head to find a lady passing by, just happening to overhear their conversation.

"Do you know anything about her?" Sakura nearly stood up in her rush, her voice raised in hope.

The elderly lady pursed her lips, "Why…as I matter of fact, yes… -"

"Please, _please _tell us!" Naruto begged.

"I invited her over for dinner since she looked hungry…I'm sorry…but she left in a rush an hour ago, saying something about getting away…"

"_Shit!_"

Who cared about the leftover food now, they had to get to Kagome before she left again!

"Oi! Granny! Which way did she go?" Naruto stared at her, wide-eyed before the elder woman.

A little shocked at this change of mood, she gestured to an area. "She went northwest, in the direction of Suna."

"Arigato!" Sakura threw the lady a generous tip and yelled as she pulled her two teammates along with her.

* * *

Reviews would be appreciated.

Tenshi-Battosai


	16. Then and Now

**---Sorrows of Yesterday---**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto.

I was never good as angst, so here's my pathetic, and poor attempt at it XD

**Chapter 16: Then and Now**

"Sakura-chan! Wait! Our stuff is at the inn!" Naruto pointed out.

"Right…" She stopped, wary, and the three ran towards what used to be their stay for the night. The kunoichi fumbled with the keys for a moment, and tried to open the door quickly, when Sasuke, for some reason, somehow lost his patience and kicked the door open, which made the piece of wood crack down the middle.

Hurriedly, the three burst into the room and snatched their belongings off the floor. Sliding the window open, they proceeded to hop out.

"Towards Suna!" Naruto shouted, stating the obvious fact that somehow, everybody wanted to hear anyway.

The colour of the sky bore the hazy shades of summer, and with the coming of the season itself, Sasuke clasped his fingers tightly around his pack strap.

He followed diligently, although grudgingly, but found his feet moving alongside anyway.

Perhaps the world had cursed him from the start, leaving him at this very spot, searching for what he felt was his soul, his spirit, yet…

Sasuke wondered if the feeling was forlorn to him.

When was the last time he had felt happy?

"Sasuke, hurry up!" Sakura beckoned, slowing down to wait for him to catch up.

Obediently, he followed. Sasuke wass silent the whole time, thinking about why she left, and confused, his mind mixed up into different conclusions, each one not quite making sense, and thus, he disposed of those ideas.

121212121212

Honestly, Kagome had no idea where she was going. All she remembered was thanking the elderly lady and leaving, walking down the street when she glanced into a window, to see Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto dropping their things onto the floor inside a room.

After that, everything just seemed like a blur.

_Running._

'_So they have gone after me…_' It confused her…in a way, it made her feel warm inside, but cold at the same time.

They were looking for her. _They hadn't forgotten about her. _Yet…did she really want to face them again? She had chosen to run away…

Kagome was tripping, stumbling, and nearly out of breath.

She was running all night long, from sunset, until the sun started to rise into the sky again, beckoning all the beautiful birds to sing their melodies…and before she knew it, the deep forest terrain parted into warm, seemingly never ending sand.

It was then that Kagome was truly confident she had lost them. She slowed to a walk, letting out a sigh.

She only thought of _him, _and _her._ The person who had lost his spark in battle. The one who chose her over life itself, and she didn't realize it until the passing moment where it was inevitable.

"_Kagome…live, for sure you'd know how to do that. It's my last wish…and if you really loved me…"_

_She dimly took note of what he said. 'Loved' it was…_

"_Then take my final wish to the skies. Live on, and as you do that, don't forget us. Never_ _forget us…learn from mistakes, and never be like me…as long as you live, no matter where you end up."_

She had taught her. Kagome had thought it unlikely at the time, but truly took her words to heart. They were solemn words, and she never did hate her in the first place, no matter what she had been forced to give up. In the end, she was thankful for this person the most.

"_Why are you filled with sorrow? You have been careless, and yet you regret your foolish actions?"_

"_They were not foolish."_

"_Then may I ask why you regret it, when you deny yourself? You have always been foolish. Change yourself. Maybe then, you will be of use."_

"_I don't need advice from you!"_

"_It is not advice, but merely a fact. Adapt, and stay strong. I am a hollow soul, dead, and with no purpose. I will descend back to hell. Create a purpose, and make this half of a soul worthwhile. If you regret, many foolish decisions will be made, and you will never be happy. Your soul will drown in sorrow. I don't remember happiness…show me what it feels…to be truly happy."_

"_Wait--!" _

_A body crumpled to the ground…and then... a soul entered back into its place of solace._

…_And then it was silent..._

But… she also thought of _him._ Elegant stride with pale skin and obsidian eyes…

No, she refused to think of another person, she didn't want to be hurt again…

There were no regrets_. No, there couldn't be. She couldn't let it happen._

A long time ago, she had turned her back and left the deserted ruins of Kaede's village. Back then, she had closed her eyes, withholding tears, and vowed, vowed that she would never regret. And now…she had never felt so alone in her life.

Gritty sand started to pass between her sandals, making Kagome irritated. She took her sandals off, holding them by her side as she walked. It reminded her of that red head that had helped her the other day…

He had seemed to have a lot of sand, using them to his will and morphing it into any shape. It was fascinating.

The miko looked up, and to her delight, a village was finally in sight. Soon enough, tall buildings started to get into view over a hill, causing Kagome to break out into a run. Finally, as she got there, she sprinted into this new village, slowing down as she got past the gates, ignoring the shouts of the guards.

Kagome slipped into the crowds.

She didn't regret. _Nope, not at all…_She didn't regret anything_. Nothing. _

Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing.

Her downcast eyes and tired body did nothing to attract the bustling crowd's attention, and Kagome just continued walking, following the noon traffic, and unconsciously leading her past glass doors and into the tallest building in the village. The guards weren't there. She didn't care though, but walking in further, Kagome bumped right into a tall person, stumbling back.

_It was Gaara._

"You again" He raised an eyebrow, steadying her and taking a step back.

Kagome shot him a tired scowl, "What? Me again? How nice."

Gaara had the urge to roll his eyes, -it was a peculiar sensation-, he had never had this urge before, but the Kazekage just shrugged it off, and refrained from doing so. "If you must stand here, come into my office." He started to walk off without reply.

Obediently, she complied, following him down the vast corridors of the building, and finally turning into a spacious room, with only a desk, bookshelf, and a few chairs occupying it.

They were silent the whole way, with only Gaara muttering to Kagome to sit down when they arrived at their destination.

Kagome dropped her bag onto the floor, gratefully sinking into the nearest chair to her.

It was silent again, until Gaara brought something up, "The others are searching for you?"

The miko jerked up in her chair, surprised, and hesitated before answering, "…Not at all."

"Liar."

She paused, before deciding that he knew something was up, and giving in, "Gaara, it was…they are looking for me, though I wish not to be found…I have caused…too much pain."

Gaara stared at her questionably, "I used to think that."

* * *

Reviews would be appreciated.

Tenshi-Battosai


	17. Bondless

**---Sorrows of Yesterday---**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

And here's the next chapter…It's finally summer vacation! (Is so happy!) I hope to fit more updates in, but summer isn't all that carefree. I hope I can manage everything around trips and parties…

I realize I forgot to mention a few of her weapons along the way. They come into view now. (Gosh, so many things to do...)

Oh yes, and if you haven't realized it, I have a Shikamaru/Kagome oneshot out…as a matter of fact… a couple weeks ago XD

**Chapter 17: Bondless**_  
_**This chapter is dedicated to ancient-relic, for helping me come back to my senses and aiding me on my research.**

"I never wanted to be like this, but…it has to be done…one way or another."

"Who says?"

There was no comment on this, though Kagome's hard, grim face signified that she wasn't happy with what the Kazekage had said at all. "Me," She replied curtly.

Gaara only raised an eyebrow at this comment, remaining silent for the time being. He contemplated his next words before speaking, "You're wrong. If you continue this…then you'll be lonely."

Kagome bit her lip. '_I don't want to be lonely…never again…_'

"By pushing them away, you are not keeping them from harm, but doing the opposite."

"I'm…hurting them?" Her fists clenched around the fabric of her black pants. The miko's legs jerked unwillingly as she stood up, her weapons clattering to the ground.

"Nobody wants to be lonely." Gaara nodded in understanding, his eyes staying sharp and calculating her actions.

He was so right; s_o right_. Her knees felt weak. Perhaps it was the fatigue.

"_Don't leave me, Inuyasha!"_

"…_You don't need me anymore…your strength…you can protect yourself."_

_Kagome drove herself into panic, "Don't leave me! I don't want to be alone!" She shrieked, "Please…Inuyasha…"_

"_I know that being alone is the most horrible punishment you could ever receive," He replied somewhat patiently, "You're doing this to yourself. Don't, it makes me regret everything."_

"…_I'm not…you are…"_

"_Only you can control your emotions, girl. Stop relying on me!"_

"_Inuyasha, **sit**! You'll never understand!" Tears started to leak from her eyes._

"…_You're wrong…" He whispered._

Kagome looked up at Gaara, "…Am I really wrong…? Is this really the wrong thing to do?"

He nodded.

He had struck her with the realization that she had probably needed all along. There was no chance to answer though, for there were shouts and footsteps down the hallway.

"Move it! We've got to see the Kazekage immediately!"

"You're not permitted in here! Get out!" Guards scrambled after them wildly.

"We're on a mission, and we have to see the Kazekage, Tsunade's orders!" Naruto lied, as they high-tailed it down the corridors.

Sasuke cursed as a kunai flew close to his head, and they both tumbled into the office. Sakura slammed the door as the guards mistakenly turned the wrong way.

"What business do you have here?" Gaara said. He looked up from examining a piece of paperwork. "Stop causing such a racket in the building."

"We need your assistance in tracking somebody down." Sakura walked up to his desk, and slammed her hand down on its surface, a slight crack splitting at the edge.

"Oh?" Gaara raised an eyebrow. "In what matter?" he questioned calmly. "Do you happen to be looking for one Kagome?"

"You know?" The Kazekage, Naruto, and Sakura were taken aback by Sasuke's sudden outburst.

"Perhaps." He smirked, raising his head confidently.

Sasuke let out a growl and walked up to Gaara, fisting his hand around the collar of the Kazekage's shirt and pulling his face close to his own, "Where is she?"

"Merely sleeping," Gaara said calmly_. What is this feeling?_ At Gaara's words, Sasuke's stomach unwillingly clenched and turned over.

Naruto's eyes widened. It wasn't that he didn't trust Gaara, but…

"**What did you do to her?**" Naruto burst, yelling.

"Nothing at all."

Sasuke shoved the smug shinobi back into his desk and walked out the door, head held up high. Somehow, he managed to keep his graceful and elegant walk with posture, while still sending waves of anger at the Kazekage.

"Sasuke, where are you going?" Sakura called out after him, "The guards are still out there!"

"I called them off." Gaara said bluntly.

"Since when?"

"A moment ago." 

121212121212

He wasn't used to reacting this way. It was a strange, foreign feeling to him, to be hunting down a person, with him actually _trying_. In a way, the indescribable emotion greatly confused and frustrated him; he was supposed to know his own feelings, for Kami's sake. He refused to admit anything. Yes.

Yet, he found himself stomping aimlessly down the corridor, slamming every door open possible as he went along, shooting a quick, blank glance into the room before continuing on.

'_Where? Where is she?'_

He stilled. Faintly, he could hear something being picked up, a few murmurs, and then suddenly, a melody filled the air.

It sounded so hollow, and filled with melancholy. The notes sounded a bit off, as if the player was playing it a bit too flat, but it still gave the same effect.

Sasuke's stomach felt empty, and the haunted tune mesmerized him.

Slowly, he began to walk again, taking slow steps towards the source of the music. He creaked open the door, to find Kagome with her eyes closed, a wooden flute raised to her lips.

"It would sound better if you weren't such a bad player," Sasuke scoffed, interrupting her peace.

Startled, Kagome jumped, letting out a gasp. "Sasuke?" Her eyes widened considerably; they then narrowed when she realized what he had said. "I am not!"

"You are. You were playing too flat."

"I always do. I don't know how to fix it. Why? Do you play too?" Kagome raised an eyebrow. Well, she was quite surprised that he hadn't brought up the topic of her runaway. It was better to keep it that way. Hopefully, he wouldn't bring it up.

"Yes," Sasuke nodded, walking towards the miko. "Play again."

Rolling her eyes, Kagome started the tune again. She was caught off-guard once again, nearly stopping the flow of the music, when two arms reached around her and started directing her a bit.

"Straighten your posture a bit; your left hand is too low, blow a bit softer into the flute…across the opening, not into it."

After a while, Kagome could hear a noticeable change in her music. A thought came to mind, and she stopped playing. "Sasuke, you play."

He stared at her, not blankly, but almost at the 'are-you-kidding-me?' look.

"Seriously." She sighed, exasperated, and thrust the wooden instrument in his face.

Sasuke took a step back, scowling. He snatched the flute and raised it to his lips. There was a pause, and then he played a song.

It sounded like a flowing river; the notes connected easily, and Kagome guessed, if she closed her eyes, she could imagine a tranquil stream, and maybe even mountains and birds. She noticed that he had closed his eyes in the process, and Kagome couldn't help but grin. Carefully, she snuck up behind him, reaching her arm over to poke him…and froze.

Cinnamon.

Sasuke smelled of cinnamon.

Kagome couldn't help but smile, because his smell reminded her of apple cider on a cold winter day. It was soothing.

It was ironic, how everybody in the modern era had only smelt of soap and smoke, and here…in this…ninja place…everybody had such a unique smell.

Sakura smelled of sweet lemonade, and Naruto had the distinct smell of chocolate cake, with a lingering ramen scent.

She had caught a whisk of Neji's scent, which was quite like cooked rice and pine.

Kakashi smelled of oranges. She really had no idea why.

"Kagome?" She snapped back into reality to find Sasuke staring at her, an eyebrow raised.

Kagome flushed. "What?"

"You seemed a bit…off…for a moment."

"Oh, sorry, I zoned out."

"What?"

"Never mind."

Sasuke sat down on the unmade bed, Kagome following.

It was silent for a while, before Sasuke spoke again, murmuring the words Kagome so didn't want to hear, "Why did you leave?"

Kagome pursed her lips. How would she explain? How would she express…how could she express the bottled up feeling inside of her. At the moment, an indescribable feeling welled up in her chest, and Kagome replied, "It's something I've always done."

"Why?"

"I told you, it's something I've alwa-"

"I don't want to hear it." Sasuke's curt reply struck Kagome hard.

"I…I…" Kagome's eyes welled up with tears, "I felt guilty, okay? When you were hurt, all I could think of was how it was my entire fault! And why would you guys care for me after I had done that? And you would be better off without me!" She looked into Sasuke's eyes, and was taken aback, "…Sasuke…?" Kagome sniffed, hesitant.

"That was why?" The question seemed rhetorical, thus Kagome remained silent, "All of that…because you thought my injury was your fault?" The Uchiha's sharp eyes made it to Kagome's wide stare, "That's-"

"Sasuke, you bastard! You made Kagome cry didn't you? You're such a jerk!" Naruto fumed, stomping into the room.

The Uchiha regarded the intruder calmly, without a word.

Sakura followed afterwards, "Naruto…I think you should give those two a break," She said quietly. "I think they need it," She added in a lower voice, so only Naruto could hear.

Naruto seemed a bit hesitant for a split second, "Kagome…how are you?"

The miko pursed her lips, "Fine, and how about you?" '_Argh! What was Sasuke going to say?'_

Sakura ran up to her and hugged Kagome, sniffing, "Oh, Kagome! We've been so worried about you! Don't ever run off like that again, okay? You scared me to death, and I wish I stopped you at the entrance, but I couldn't find the heart to, and…"

"Shh…" Kagome rubbed comforting circles on the kunoichi's back, soothing her, and slowing down the stream of babbling, "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry, I won't do it again. I've learned..." She looked up at the doorway, and saw Gaara's satisfied face. Smiling, Kagome nodded a _thank you_ to the Kazekage before he turned around and left.

Sakura smiled, releasing her hold on the miko, and taking a seat beside her on the bed.

Naruto saw this as an opportunity to cause some mischief. "Hey Kagome, do you want to know something?"

"What?" Kagome looked up in interest.

"Sasuke," He grinned, noticing that he had quickly grabbed the Uchiha's attention, "Was so worried about you the whole entire time! _We're wasting time just standing here. Every minute, every second that passes, something inevitable may happen_" Naruto poorly mimicked. He then suddenly cracked up, "And, oh man! You should've seen the look on his face earlier when Gaara told him you were _merely sleeping_! It was so hilarious! –"

He was interrupted by a punch to the face.

"—Hey! Sasuke! You bastard! What was that for?"

"We were resting," Sasuke cut Naruto off harshly. He smirked, "And Naruto fell asleep…unfortunately, we had a series of events turn, and Naruto peed in his pants in that moment…and-"

"SHUT UP!" Naruto flailed his arms around, embarrassed, "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Face red, he shoved an amused and calm Sasuke out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Oh Naruto?" Sakura raised an eyebrow, grinning, "I never knew…"

"Shut up!"

Kagome snickered.

* * *

Reviews would be greatly appreciated.

Tenshi-Battosai


	18. Fearless

**---Sorrows of Yesterday---**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto.

I would like to thank one of the anonymous reviews I got…concerning constructive criticism. I greatly appreciate this.

Although…I'm afraid that I'll most likely stick to putting this 'Mary-sue from another fandom' in the Naruto realm, because that's my writing interest. I may plan on writing a firm non-crossover in the future, although I have to say that when it comes to writing, crossovers are my interest at the moment. I know that there's a low chance that you may be reading this next chapter at the moment, but I would like to respond to this here anyways.

I'll take all your suggestions to heart, and I'll start changing things a bit. (And I don't recall interrupting the story with an A/N in the middle of it…and I'm aware of this too. I sure hope I didn't…and if I did, I'll be sure to keep an eye on that later) Oh wait, first chapter. Hehe.

Yes, I try to work on my commas and periods, and I take extra care on that, but I suppose I don't know very much about that, so I'll have to look more in to it. Chapter 16 sounds a bit odd, you say? (Grins) That was the chapter that I was experimenting new styles with. (Laughs)

A period at the end of a quote? Mmm… I've never actually heard of that from how I was taught, but I'll start. Overall, thank you for your criticism, I very much appreciate it. Preteen-oriented plot? (Pouts) I guess. It's something that's still deep inside of me. Thank you very much for the time you have given up to do this for me!

And thus, I apologize to my readers for this terribly long A/N note. We shall now move back onto the story.

**Chapter 18: Fearless**

Naruto scowled. Sasuke didn't have the right to say that in front of everybody! "I did not piss my pants."

"You're still angry about that? Naruto, get over it, it was a joke." Sakura turned around, "And besides! It's been a day since then, and you provoked him."

The blonde sighed irritably, "Fine. Where's Kagome? She's been off romping somewhere since dinner."

"Like what you always do?"

"No!"

Sakura sat down on the edge of his bed, "I believe she went on the roof to watch the stars. She said something about the sand in this village probably not going to get to the air up there."

"…And how about Sasuke?" Naruto questioned.

The kunoichi raised an eyebrow, "Since when did you care so much anyway?"

"Maybe since I discovered that Sasuke might like Kagome." The blonde grinned mischievously.

"Oh, really now…"

121212121212

Kagome sighed, hugging the pillow she had brought along with her closer to her body, '_We're heading back tomorrow…_'

"What are you doing up here?"

She turned to the sound of the voice, slightly surprised. "Sasuke? Oh…I was just thinking…I guess contemplating what would've happened if you hadn't caught up with me." Kagome grinned.

Sasuke nodded, "Don't do that again."

"Of course… I just thought that you guys would hate me after that happened…"

"Why?"

"Well, because…I guess I used to have a friend that yelled at me every time I messed up on something. I guess I've become accustomed to that, so I just expect it now."

"It's not like that here. You shouldn't assume that we would hate you."

"I'm sorry…" Kagome bowed her head in shame, but then seemed to realize something and perked up, "Hey, were you worried about me?"

He looked like he was almost taken aback, '_Was I worried about her?_' "No" He shrugged nonchalantly, "Why would I be?"

Kagome pouted, shoving him playfully, "That's not fair! Then why did you run after me?"

"It was a mission."

"Hey! You heartless idiot!" Kagome sniffed, pretending to be hurt, "I can't believe you!"

Sasuke turned towards the miko, raising an eyebrow.

The two stared at each other for a moment, and then the Uchiha swept down and shoved her back a bit.

"What was that for?"

"Shoving me."

"Hey," Kagome frowned when she glanced at Sasuke, "What's that?"

"What is it this time?"

The miko gently tugged down the collar of Sasuke's shirt, to reveal three comma-like tattoos at the base of his neck, "This."

Sasuke immediately realized what she was talking about, and flinched away, "Nothing," He tugged the shirt out of her hands and stood up, brushing off some dust, "Bedtime, little girl."

Kagome scoffed, "I'm not a little girl!"

Sasuke already climbed back into his room for the night.

"Why, that guy--" She fumed. "You're so rude!" Kagome yelled into the window as he was leaving. Letting out an annoyed sigh, Kagome shook her head, following suit back into her room.

Her foot found its way onto the window frame, and Kagome slid into the room, her feet meeting the cold floor.

Quietly, the miko got back into bed, pulling the covers up to her chin.

_What was that tattoo-like print on his shoulder?_

Kagome could remember the feel of it as it was revealed to her eyes.

It felt as if a dark and evil aura was radiating from it, trying to hide, and it seemed to shrink back as Kagome's hand had gotten near it.

Now that she thought about it…she had felt a bit of it spark every time he had used his chakra…

Whatever it was, Kagome was tired, and she decided that she would pester him about it in the future, perhaps maybe even tomorrow.

222222222222

"Kagome…Hey, Kagome, wake up…"

She was shaken gently on the shoulder several times before she stirred, "Sakura…?" Kagome mumbled tiredly, "Is it morning already?"

Sakura shook her head, smiling, "Silly, we have to go in an hour. Get your things together, will you? And we still need to eat breakfast before we set off."

Kagome yawned, stretching as she sat up in bed, "Alright…give me five minutes."

"We're just having fruits, nothing special. I wouldn't even call it breakfast."

After she heard the door close, Kagome stumbled out of bed, walking into the bathroom. She did her daily morning routine, and then started gathering her things together, feeling more awake.

Kagome started by attaching her sword back onto her waist, tying her small satchel of change securely on too. Picking up the flute, Kagome smiled fondly at it, before attaching it. The black drawstring back was slung over her shoulder once again as she headed out the door, '_I hope I don't get lost anywhere.'_

"Who are you?"

The miko turned her head, spotting another person across the corridor, "Kagome, you?"

The lady looked suspiciously at her for a moment, before replying, "Temari."

Kagome smiled, "Hey Temari, do you know where the kitchen is? I'm looking for Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke."

"Oh," A brief flicker of realization crossed her face as something dawned on her, "You must be with them then. Here, follow me. It's not far, actually."

"Thank you so much!" Kagome scurried after the blonde, hearing the echo of their footsteps as they carried on.

121212121212

"Sakura-chan," Naruto yawned, "Is this seriously all there is to eat? Can't we have something more…nutritious, like ramen?"

"Idiot," Sakura shook her head, beginning to peel another apple, "I believe this has more of a health value than ramen could provide."

Naruto pouted, but picked up an apple slice anyway.

"Gaara-san, would you like one?"

Gaara shook his head, leaving the room to supposedly train.

A few minutes later, Sasuke entered, immediately picking up an uncut apple. Bored, he took a seat at the table.

"How was your morning, Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

He shrugged. "Tiring," The Uchiha replied placidly.

"Oh…"

Across the room, Naruto was grinning at Sasuke. "Anything happen last night?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, turning his head towards the Uzumaki, "What are you implying?"

Naruto put on a smug smile, "Nothing at all."

The Uchiha's eyes lingered on him for a moment, before Sasuke shook his head and sighed, continuing to eat.

"Hey guys!" Kagome waved, entering the room as Temari did.

"Kagome! You found your way here!" Sakura smiled.

"Yeah," The miko beamed, "Temari helped me here. This place is huge. I fear that if I got lost, I might rot in a room." She joked.

"Temari? Oh-! Temari! Long time no see!"

Temari nodded, eyeing the apples before grabbing one of her own, "Yes. It's good to see you doing well. Have you seen Gaara?"

"Just left."

"Well, thanks, but I have to go catch up with him. Kankuro's trying to find the guy." Temari exited the room, calm.

"Apples, Kagome?" Naruto gestured to the plate.

"Sure, thanks."

222222222222

"Naruto, can we just stop for a rest? We've been walking for five hours already. It's the afternoon, and I have no water left." Sakura said.

The blond turned on his heel to face Sakura, "But we just finally got back into the greenery two hours ago!"

"That's exactly what my point is, Naruto!" She twitched.

"Fine," Naruto muttered nonchalantly, "But I don't think there's water around here."

"He's right…" Sakura shook her head.

"Here," Kagome pulled something awfully small out of her drawstring bag. With a burst of her energy, it grew in size, until Kagome was able to properly wrap her hand around it, "Water's just right in here." She offered Sakura her water bottle.

The other three looked on, significantly surprised.

"What did you just do?" Naruto's wide eyes stared at Kagome's hand.

Sakura cautiously took the offered water bottle, carefully unscrewing the cap and taking a drink.

It tasted normal.

"I can…do a few convenient things…" Kagome's statement nearly came out as a question. "Not much though. It draws a lot of your energy."

They stared at her for another second before shaking their head and turning back around.

"Thanks for the water, Kagome. It's much appreciated." Sakura handed back the bottle.

"No problem." Kagome didn't shrink it back, instead carrying it. It would waste energy to just do that again, when they might need it later on.

222222222222

"How long does it take to get back to Konoha?" Kagome groaned, "It's already nightfall, and we're taking a rest. How did I get there in a day and a half then?"

"When Neji and Hinata had run to Suna during the invasion," Sakura explained, "They reached Suna and back in a span of twenty minutes. I think it was willpower."

The miko nodded slowly, just accepting the facts that were given to her, "So, could I get another lesson on chakra, please?"

Sakura perked up, "I forgot all about that! You still need to learn this stuff, don't you?"

"Yes…I already discovered the basics, although I can't seem to actually use a jutsu."

"Well, you know that there are twelve hand seals, and all of them represent something in the zodiac…" Sakura paused, thinking up what to say next, "There are the rat, ox, tiger, hare, bird, dog, boar, dragon, serpent, ram, monkey, and horse."

Kagome responded to this, "Yes, I know that…"

"There are certain hand seals to each technique, obviously. There are two types of energy: stamina, your physical energy, and Chakra, which is your mental energy. Taijutsu only needs pure stamina, where as Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu needs Chakra. If you don't have stamina, then you don't have Chakra. Stamina creates Chakra."

"Yes, I know that too."

"We're going to review it, then," Sakura grinned, "So, you have to convert stamina into Chakra. If you want to execute a technique, then you have to convert just the right amount of stamina. If you convert too little, then it doesn't work, if there's too much, then you've just wasted energy. Here."

Kagome's hands were guided into a hand seal position.

"That's the seal for the Bunshin no Jutsu. It's a basic technique that you have to know to pass the academy exams."

"Thanks," Kagome smiled tiredly, "Though I think I'm worn out for the night. I'm going to sleep, kay'?"

"Alright, Kagome. Have a good night. We're getting up early again tomorrow."

"Good night, Sakura."

* * *

I think this story is going to be pretty long…

Reviews would be appreciated.

Tenshi-Battosai


	19. The Way it Was Meant to Be

**---Sorrows of Yesterday-- **

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything at all.

If you have any questions, PM me, because I don't want to make this so long. I'm still not over my writer's block... (Sorry this chapter is sort of short. I promise the next one will be... twice as long or more! XD)

Responding to an anonymous reviewer by the name of '_karis_': (If you still remember. XD)

Even though I hate to say this…I decline your request, because for a fact, I have never watched Phantom of the Opera before… (Other than the fact that I can play the music on the piano, but…) so I have no idea what you're talking about, even though it seems like quite the storyline. I'm so sorry! (Cries)

**Chapter 19: The Way it Was Meant to Be **

The four entered the village again, to find that on a relatively nice day, it was quite quiet in Konoha, chatter-wise. It was, actually quite loud; hammers, drills, clonking and squeaks… They already knew that it was going to take a long time to repair the entire village from the destruction that the invasion had caused, not even counting the damage that the war had done too.

"Sakura! You're back!"

The kunoichi was nearly toppled over as a green blur rushed up to her, "Lee! It's great to be back." Sakura grinned.

Lee beamed, hugging her, "It's been a few days already, and I was beginning to worry!"

"Who's that?" Kagome whispered in Sasuke's ear, "He seems really close to Sakura…"

"Rock Lee. Boyfriend."

"Oh…" The miko nodded slowly, "That's great!"

Naruto looked away from the two, grumbling, "We have to report to Granny Tsunade before you start your mushy-gushy stuff."

Sakura rolled her eyes, breaking their hug. "You're right. Let's go; sorry Lee, later, okay?"

Lee grinned, giving her a 'thumbs up' as they rounded the corner, out of sight.

121212121212

"You can stop knocking on the door and come in now," Tsunade sighed. She looked up. "So how was the mission?"

"It's accomplished, Tsunade-sama." Kakashi nodded, the whole group stepping into the room.

She turned her gaze towards the miko, "I will not even bother to ask why you ran away."

Kagome bowed her head, mouth set into a grim line. "Yes…I understand. I won't do that again. I promise; you have my word."

Tsunade's gaze lingered on Kagome for a second before she shifted her eyes back to the paperwork in front of her, "Dismissed."

121212121212

"What do you want to do now?" Kagome sighed.

Kakashi glanced at Kagome, "Sleep? A mission does take its toll on you. I recommend we all get some rest today, and just relax. Tomorrow, we can meet up for training at seven in the morning again."

"That sounds acceptable," Sasuke muttered.

"Unless…anybody has other ideas?"

"No, that's just fine," Sakura agreed.

Naruto only paid his teacher half of his attention, but knew what was going on anyway. He yawned, '_And there's still training tomorrow,_' he thought grumpily. "Maybe I'll visit Iruka-sensei today."

"Hmm…really?" Sakura asked, "Can I come?"

"Maa…why not?"

Kakashi nodded, "I'm sure he'd appreciate that. I've got some business to attend to, hopefully, you two," he glanced at Sasuke and Kagome, "can find something to do. I'll see you four tomorrow." He was gone in a puff of smoke, while Naruto and Sakura decided to walk to the Academy.

"Do you want to go with them, Sasuke?"

He shrugged, "Don't feel like it."

"Oh, alright."

"Any suggestions to where we should go?"

He turned around to shrug once again, but at that moment, something struck Kagome. _"I didn't think he looked __that__ good, but at this angle…"_ Her thoughts wandered. She froze. _"No…nononono… what am I thinking? Why…ugh. Please not again. I don't want to ever be even a bit attracted to anyone again." _Speechless, she turned away. _"Ugh, what is wrong with me? Maybe I just haven't had any proper sleep in a while."_ "…On second thought, let's just go back to your place and get some rest."

Sasuke shot Kagome a peculiar look, and she tried to smile convincingly back. Kagome diverted her eyes. _"I'm sure it's just the lack of sleep. I'll get some proper rest tonight."_

His words seemed to be chosen carefully, because he took a moment longer to respond. "Okay. That would work too."

Exhaling, she was thankful he had accepted her offer. Kagome watched as he started a confident stride back to the mansion, hands in his pocket, and posture straight. Then, she followed after him, muttering and shaking her head.

* * *

Really short and probably crappy, I know. But, I just wanted to let you guys know that I am still very much alive.

Reviews would be appreciated, because I think my ego just died. (Cries) Thank you in advance.

-- Tenshi-Battosai


	20. Small Talk

**---Sorrows of Yesterday---**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

It has been so long, hasn't it? I've been neglecting so many things and I feel really bad. And its summer now and I've hardly made an effort on my vacation before the possibility of updating gets even worse.

Sorry guys… No, I'm not putting this on hiatus, nor am I stopping…but I need inspiration. (Frowns) Maybe I'll find it in time, but…it's already been a long time, ne? Here's the next chapter for you.

The past chapters have been edited. Took so long…

I know the longer it takes for me to update, the more fans I loose. That's true, isn't it?

**Chapter 20: Small Talk**

Kagome idly swirled her cereal in her bowl again. Nothing had happened during the tedious morning. It had been like this every morning since they got back. Sasuke and Kagome had not been called up for some mission yet, nor had Naruto or Sakura dropped by. There were no upcoming festivals, or fairs.

She glanced at the living room, where a blanket was messily draped over the sofa, and another futon haphazardly dropped on the ground. When the two had arrived back at the mansion, Sasuke had been too tired to set up another one of the rooms that they could stay in, since the invasion had destroyed his room. And for the next five days, they didn't bother settling into another room. Where was he anyway? She hadn't seen him all morning.

The miko threw away her cereal since she had already eaten most of it, and the small pieces had gotten soggy over time. Kagome could hear a distant thud outside in the Uchiha grounds, so she glanced out the window to see Sasuke training with his shuriken and kunai.

_Knock, knock, knock._

She glanced out the front window to see Sakura shuffling her feet on the front doorstep. Kagome opened the door, "Hey Sakura, how's your morning so far?"

Sakura grinned. "Pretty good, thanks. I was just wondering if you wanted to go on a picnic today for lunch. Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, Ino, and Tenten are going to be there, I think. Everybody else is busy with missions, and Hinata's getting her knee repaired today. And…hopefully you and Sasuke are going to be there too?"

"Well I don't think we have anything special to do – me, at least. So why not? If Sasuke insists he can't come, I guess I could drag him over anyway."

"That's great! I don't think you've met any of them yet, so I guess I could introduce you to my other friends when we get there…how about the top of the Hokage monument?" The kunoichi beamed.

"…Where's that?" Kagome thought of all the places she knew, and nothing seemed to come to mind about the place Sakura mentioned. She knew the Hokage Monument, and perhaps it was above it, but Kagome didn't think there was anything special up there, or if it was possible to get there.

"Sasuke knows; he can bring you there."

"Alright, thank you. See you then!'

"Bye!" Sakura waved, "Oh, and by the way, I would really appreciate if you could make maybe… a dessert or something? Nobody's taken up that responsibility yet. I've only got Kiba, Ino, Tenten, and I making the actual lunch, and Chouji bringing the drinks."

Kagome strained her mind to see if she could remember anyway, "I'm sure that wouldn't be a problem. I can get something done by then. See you later today then."

She sighed. _"I think I remember that cake recipe. Yes. I believe I do. I used to make it for Souta and mom. Haha, I remember that one time I brought a few samples for Shippo to try. Inuyasha stole them, and then soon everybody found out. I ended up making several of them for everybody. That was a great day…" _Kagome pursed her lips in thought. _"I should make two cakes. I think Sasuke has some flour, and I can go out a bit later to get some strawberries and the rest of the ingredients…Shippo would've loved to eat this again…"_

Caught up in her memories, Kagome wandered into the washroom and shut the door behind her. She turned around. _"Hey. This isn't the washroom."_ She made an incoherent noise in her throat. _"I turned into the hallway and took 20 steps and turned right…Oh, but I should've…I think…Oh no._" Kagome blinked and scanned the room. _"I'm not supposed to be in here."_

121212121212

"Oi, Sakura! Can I talk to you for a bit?" Naruto raced up to catch up with his teammate and then slowed down to her pace.

"What's up?" Sakura questioned curiously. She gestured to a nearby bench, where they both sat down and she was able to rest her groceries on the ground.

"It's about…Sasuke…and maybe Kagome too."

Her curiosity increased. "Oh? What about Sasuke and Kagome?"

Naruto bit his lip, thinking. "It's just that I really, seriously think that Sasuke likes Kagome. I was only kidding when I brought it up in Suna, but now…I really thought about it. Think about it. He was so worried when she left. Not the part where he took that hit for her, cause' you know, he took a hit for me before, and he doesn't really like me in that way. Well, I seriously hope he doesn't…And, well…" His face gained a very disgusted expression while he began rambling.

Sakura laughed. "I'm sure he doesn't like you. Really…But…Well, Kagome on the other hand…I've had my suspicions about that too. Remember when Gaara said that Kagome was just sleeping? The expression on his face was more than a regular panic, I think. He seemed like he wanted to kill Gaara, and he was shocked and panicked at the same time."

"But Sasuke…liking somebody? That's unheard of! He's like… the most heartless bastard ever!" Naruto stuck out his tongue. "You know a lot of girls in this village like him, or at least at one point, and he hasn't ever given anybody a second glance. Well, only you cause' he _has_ to. You're on his team. I mean, I don't think he would care otherwise." That earned him a smack from Sakura. Naruto shrunk away from her glare.

"_Besides that_, what other evidence do we have that could mean he likes her?"

"Think about it, Sakura. They _live_ together." Naruto sent several suggestive winks and nudges her way.

In a deadpan voice, Sakura stated, "Sasuke's not like that. He doesn't molest people. Nor would he have…sex with somebody he hasn't known for a while either."

"But he stayed with that Orochimaru freak for a while! And that guy looked like he was a little boy molester. I swear he could've inherited that from him!" He whined.

"Naruto, I'm sure Sasuke's not that easily influenced. And I know what you're thinking. I don't think Orochimaru molested Sasuke either. That would be absolutely gross."

The boy sighed. "Fine, fine. Take all the fun out of it." Naruto thought about it a little bit more. "Hey, what about Kagome? Do you think Kagome likes Sasuke?"

"…I never thought about that!" Sakura exclaimed. "But I seriously don't know if she likes him or not. I don't know her as well as Sasuke."

"Well…she did run away because she thought it was her fault that the bastard was hurt, right?"

"But you never know, Naruto. If it had been you instead of Sasuke, she probably would've done the same thing. Kagome just seems like the type of person who would worry about everybody else before herself."

"Kagome's gotta be affected by Sasuke somehow though. A girl can't hang around him for that long and not start to like him a bit. He's like a girl magnet from the North Pole."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You think strange. Really, you do." She sighed. "I can't find anything that would tell us if she likes him or not. Come to think of it, she seems to keep most of her feelings to herself. I think we're just going to have to coax it out of both of them."

A mischievous grin began to form on Naruto's face. "Now…that's more like it. What's the plan?"

"Well, at lunch today, we're having the picnic, remember? If Kagome stays true to her word, she'll drag Sasuke along, cause' you know he normally isn't very enthusiastic about things like this. You try to get some time alone with Sasuke, and I'll get Kagome. We have to slowly bring up the subject of the other person – not if they like each other or not, just get a reason to start a conversation about them."

A light bulb went off inside Naruto's head. "…And then sooner or later, they're going to have to make _some_ type of comment about the other person. Great information strategy, Sakura. I'm glad I helped you on it – OWW!"

Sakura glared at Naruto. "Oh yes, because you _obviously_ helped me form the plan."

121212121212

This…This was the room that Sasuke had specifically ordered Kagome not to enter.

"_I really shouldn't be in here."_ Kagome bit her lip. But curiosity completely overruled her reasoning. "Curiosity killed the cat," She breathed out quietly.

Kagome took small footsteps up to the desk and glanced at the picture frame on it. The miko was very careful, making sure not to knock anything over, or touch anything in fear of Sasuke finding out that she had been here. There was a layer of dust coating most of the things in the room, meaning that the room had been untouched for a while.

"…It's…Sasuke when he was little!" Kagome covered her mouth with her hands to prevent herself from making loud noises in excitement. _"Oh my god, he looks so __**adorable!**_" It was then that Kagome noticed the older boy in the picture. _"He looks too young to be his dad…so…I remember him mentioning his brother in his nightmare on the first day I was here. Itachi, I think. But if he doesn't talk about him, then I'm sure he doesn't want to and I shouldn't prod. But I wonder what happened for it to cause such nightmares…_" She glanced at the picture one last time and grinned like an idiot. _"I should go now before I get caught in here."_

Kagome slid out and quietly closed the door with a click. She then made her way back to the washroom, this time making sure not to make a mistake.

121212121212

"Thank you, sir!" Kagome smiled at the elderly man running the store. She picked up her groceries and started her way back to the Uchiha compound. _'Strawberries, eggs, sugar…I'm sure I didn't miss anything. And then I just have to get back and make it now before the picnic starts.'_ The miko glanced at the sun. _'Three hours…'_ "Oh hey guys," Kagome grinned.

"Kagome! Ehehehe…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Eh…what's up?"

"I just went out to get what I needed to make dessert for the picnic today…are you two okay?" Kagome raised an eyebrow. Sakura had been quiet since she got here, and Naruto was fidgeting nervously.

"We're just fine…" Sakura smiled. "Uh…Just fine, really…yeah. It's just that…we saw Kakashi-sensei reading a normal novel for once…sort of shocking, ne?"

Kagome was taken aback. "Kakashi!?...Reading a non-porn novel? You're kidding, right?"

Naruto tried to appear less agitated. "Not at all!"

"Weird…" The miko muttered, shaking her head. "Anyway, I'll see you in a few hours. I have to start baking so I'll get there in time."

Sakura watched as Kagome walked off. "That was a real close one."

121212121212

"Kakashi…reading a non-porn novel. Kakashi. Kakashi reading a non-porn novel." Kagome frowned. There seemed to be something off about it. She swore. "Kakashi…"

"Like my name that much?" Kakashi mused.

Startled, Kagome jumped, looking up into the tree where the Jounin was perched on a branch. When she regained her senses, Kagome fumed. "No!"

He sighed. "I guess I was just keeping my hopes up." Kakashi effortlessly dodged a kunai that was sent at his head. "Sasuke give you those? I don't recall you carrying any shuriken or kunai."

"I've been doing a bit of training, so I figured I should get used to these. They're not hard to handle, actually. I asked him for a set, so he brought me his spare."

"I see," he said nonchalantly. "It's nice to see you fitting in easily."

Kagome contemplated asking him something… _"I should confirm this anyway. It's too odd to be true._" "Kakashi, what's the current book that you're reading?"

"Icha Icha Violence, why?"

"Nothing," Kagome muttered flatly. _"They are __such__ liars."_

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, but let the subject go.

"Anyway, I really should be getting back to the compound. I have things to do."

"Alright." He was gone with a small 'poof'.

'_I am so going to get Sakura and Naruto for that. What were they trying to hide from me anyway?'_ Kagome managed to make the rest of the way home without any distractions. She balanced her purchases on one arm so she could open the door.

"You're back," Sasuke stated.

Kagome noted the sweat on his face. "Did you just get back from training?" Sasuke nodded, making her sigh. "Would you take a shower or something? We're having a picnic for lunch today and you don't look that great."

"_Since when?"_ Sasuke raised an eyebrow, instead choosing to say, "Why should I go?" He wasn't very enthusiastic about this, especially after such short notice.

"Because some of your friends are going, and I promised to drag you along." Kagome stared at the Uchiha. "Now go take a shower. You don't smell that great." She scrunched her nose.

He was insulted. First, she wanted to make him go to this picnic, and then now she had the nerve to tell him that he smelt bad? Sasuke put her under his scrutiny for a long time, as she held his gaze. "Tch." The Uchiha snorted, but made his way to the washroom.

Rolling her eyes, Kagome set everything on the kitchen table to start baking. _"He can be such a stubborn ass sometimes."_

121212121212

"Thanks for agreeing to come, Sasuke." Kagome beamed.

"Whatever."

"Oi! Sasuke!" Kiba caught up with the two. "Sasuke, could you please tell Sakura that I can't make it to the picnic, cause' Tsunade just suddenly slammed me a mission?"

Sasuke just stared at Kiba with a sort of 'do-you-really-expect-me-to-do-this?' expression on his face.

Kiba paused. "On second thought…you're…Kagome, right? I think Sakura mentioned that you were the new girl that was coming to the picnic too? I'm Kiba."

"Nice to meet you, Kiba." Kagome smiled.

"Could you please tell Sakura I can't come? I have to go for my mission now, and I won't be able to tell her."

"I'm sure that's not a problem."

"Oh, and I was supposed to bring these to the picnic…" Kiba handed Kagome a plate of spring rolls. "My sister made them, but it looks like I won't be able to come. She makes the greatest rolls though, so the picnic would be nothing without them," He explained arrogantly.

Kagome laughed. "Alright." She balanced the cakes on one arm so she could carry the plate.

"Thanks!" The Inuzuka grinned before running in the direction of the village gates.

Sasuke and Kagome began to walk again when the Uchiha noticed that Kagome was wobbling a bit. Without a word, he took the two cakes out of her hands.

"Thank you, Sasuke," Kagome breathed out. "For a moment there, I thought I was going to drop both of them." She grinned.

"Hn. I don't think you could even be safe holding one."

"You realize that if you weren't carrying those cakes, you'd be dead by now." Kagome fumed.

"You wouldn't be able to scratch me."

"_Sasuke…_" Kagome warned through gritted teeth.

The Uchiha only smirked.

* * *

Microsoft Word says I have approximately 2700 words. I think I fulfilled my last promise to double the chapter or so. I was going to write more, but I thought this was a suitable place to stop. 

I hope I did okay after the seven month gap for this story…

Reviews would be appreciated.

Tenshi-Battosai


End file.
